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Tue May 1 10:47:51 BST 2007

Sorry, but even a conditional air medical advocate can't support this
assertion.

By every measure that matters, medical helicopters are among the most
dangerous non-recreational vehicles on the planet.  There's space shuttles,
then crab boats, and then probably medical helicopters.  Something like
that.

Lest I come across as too emphatic, I still insist that a properly operated
medical helicopter is an incredible life-saver, at least here in Maine.  I
know a couple of dozen grateful patients who are alive to back me up.

Pret

-----Original Message-----
From: trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org [mailto:trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org]
On Behalf Of Forrest Robleto
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 8:56 PM
To: Trauma &amp, Critical Care mailing list
Subject: Re: Trauma in the air Victims wait for help

If I remember correctly even though Air transport is dangerous it is still
safer than ground.

On 4/30/07, bensonblues at comcast.net <bensonblues at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Of all the chatter about waiting times, efficiency of air transport, ad
> nauseum, no one has addressed the risk involved as well as cost involved.
> Let's look at some facts:
>
> Helicoptor medical transport is very expensive and highly overutilized in
> the US. (I was a flight nurse for two years at the Detroit Medical Center,
> '80 - '82, and that is why the program was discontinued). Further, it is
> dangerous: Crash/fatalities increase 3-fold in the night (lots of
nighttime
> in New Jersy) and 8-fold in bad weather (New Jersey ain't no Key West).
NTSB
> records of EMS helicopter crashes between '83, and '05 revealed 184
> occupants died in 182 EMS helicopter crashes. One in four EMS helicopters
is
> likely to crash during 15 years of service. The death rate for EMS flight
> crew members is 20 times the rate of all U.S. workers.
>
> One last thing: Look at the transport times a little more realistically.
> It takes 15 minutes to assemble the crew in the best of circumstances and
> get them on board (civilian practice requires "cold" boarding and
> disembarkment). It takes at least 5 minutes for the pre-flight check
before
> you can get the rotors turning. Then the flight time (? minutes) then
> landing - which requires a secured scene. Then you have to shut the thing
> off, then get out and go to your patient, do what you need to do, then get
> the patient loaded back on board, redo the pre-flight check, bla-bla. In
> other words, you don't get one of those things off the ground in 8 minutes
> from the call; it's more like 20.
>
> Call me a ground rig, I'll take my chances - and possibly save some
> over-adrenalized flight crew from disaster.
>
> DB
> --
> trauma-list : TRAUMA.ORG
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>

-- 
V/R

Forrest Robleto
R House Health & Safety
www.RHouseTraining.com
FRobleto at RhouseTraining.com
609-792-9047
--
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Trauma in the air Victims wait for help