The effect of the new rescue helicopters on the rescue service's mission profile

Abstract

Background: The change of rescue helicopter type from the Sea King to the SAR Queen has been controversial. Some hospitals can no longer receive rescue helicopters because of the stronger rotor downwash from the SAR Queen. For the same reason, it has been unclear whether the SAR Queen would be able to land near patients for air ambulance missions. The objective of the study was to investigate whether the change of helicopter type has changed the rescue service's mission profile.

Material and method: Mission data from the first eight months with the SAR Queen at Ørland Air Base (14 May 2021-14 January 2022) were compared with the last equivalent period with the Sea King (14 May 2020-14 January 2021).

Results: The number of requests increased from 249 to 349 (40 %) after the introduction of the new rescue helicopter. Response time increased from 11 to 13 minutes (18 %), while the on-scene time remained unchanged at 10 minutes for primary missions and search and rescue missions. The patients' average degree of severity, assessed by NACA scores, remained unchanged at 3.7. The proportion of missions where hoisting of a rescue paramedic or a doctor was required to gain access to the patient remained unchanged.

Interpretation: The study showed that the use of the rescue helicopter at Ørland Air Base increased after the phasing-in of the SAR Queen. The service's mission profile remained the same. The unchanged proportion of missions that involved hoisting indicates that suitable landing sites close to the patients were found to the same extent as with the Sea King.