VARIETY OF MISSIONS


“In addition to emergency missions, Halo also performs inter-facility transfers, where patients are transferred from one medical facility to another to upgrade their level of care. We also undertake some rescue operations in the sense of longline rescue where a patient would be trapped in a crevasse or on a mountain somewhere inaccessible by vehicle, and rescuers are unable to walk to the patient. Often the stretcher is not an option, and landing may be problematic as there may be jagged rocks stepping up or uneven surfaces. We utilize the longline and attach our rescuers to that. The patient is inserted into a basket and extracted. We move to a suitable landing location, have the patient transferred into the aircraft, and then we’re off to the hospital.”


OTHER ADVANTAGES OF THE AIRBUS BK 117


“We were the first HEMS in South Africa to operate a mechanical CPR device, which enables us to free up two hands of a treating practitioner. We have the ability to perform CPR on a patient with this device for three hours continuously, if required, and have two other personnel that can attend to the patient. This was a game changer for us, and we wouldn’t be able to do that in any other aircraft. One of the other facets, which is certainly advantageous, is that we can do extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) transfers. It involves a lot of oxygen on board, a number of personnel, and sufficient space to take all the equipment on board for that patient.”


70


Nov/Dec 2023


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