30/04/2004

Helicopter ambulance feasibility study published

Health Minister, Angela Smith, and her Irish counterpart, Micheál Martin, today announced the publication of a study on the feasibility of an all-Ireland helicopter ambulance service.

The Report concluded that the tertiary role may be the most appropriate in an all-island context.

The Report identified three possible roles for a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS):
  • Primary Response – travelling directly to the scene of an incident to take the patient to hospital
  • Secondary Response – meeting a ground ambulance to speed up the patient’s journey to a hospital
  • Tertiary Response – the planned, rapid transfer between hospitals of patients requiring specialist care, escorted by skilled professionals


Ms Smith said: “This study will make an important contribution to the debate on the future development of pre-hospital emergency care North and South.

“My Department is already working closely with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and the four Health and Social Services Boards to improve ambulance services in terms of speed, appropriateness of response and clinical quality. Our strategic priority is to improve 999 response times over the next few years, especially in remote and isolated rural communities.

“Actions already in the pipeline include upgrading control and communication systems, enhancing the clinical skills of ambulance crews, deploying ambulances more effectively, and introducing a systematic fleet replacement programme.”

The two Health Departments commissioned the Feasibility Study under the aegis of the North South Ministerial Council.

(MB)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

08 July 2008
Emergency Ambulance Service 'Cuts' Denied
Although there remains a need to make around £1.5m in savings, alleged 'cuts' to the NI Ambulance Service have been refuted. NI Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey responded this afternoon to earlier claims over cutbacks and insisted that there are no plans to reduce funding for ambulance services.
19 July 2019
NI Ambulance Service Recruiting Helicopter Paramedics
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service is recruiting for new helicopter paramedics to be based at the Air Ambulance base at Maze Long Kesh in Lisburn and Emergency Ambulance Control at NIAS HQ in Belfast. Successful candidates will join the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) team which is made up of 15 doctors and seven paramedics.
01 April 2008
Ambulance Crew Involved In M1 Crash
An ambulance crew has been involved in a crash in Belfast as they were attempting to resuscitate a young baby on the M1 motorway. The crew had been flagged down on Kennedy Way to help an infant who had stopped breathing, when a lorry collided with the ambulance at 11am today. The lorry was approaching the Broadway roundabout.
06 February 2017
Ambulance Crews Come Under Attack In Lurgan
Ambulance crews have come under attack in Lurgan . A man smashed the windscreen of an ambulance with an oxygen cylinder that he stole from the vehicle while the staff were treating a man who had been stabbed at around midnight on Friday, 03 February. The ambulance is now unavailable to use until it is repaired next week.
09 August 2021
Man Arrested In Connection With Death Of A 2-Year-Old Child
A 32-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a two-year-old girl. Northern Ireland Ambulance Service attended an address in Park Avenue in Dungannon on Friday 06 August, where they took the child to hospital. The child died in hospital a short time later.