The Republic and Northern Ireland are the only two places in the European Union without a specialist air ambulance medical service.
At a time of increased prosperity and extra spending on our health services, the question must be asked: why is there no firm proposal to establish an airborne medical service on the island? Readers may be under the impression that the Air Corps provides this service in the State: in fact it will oblige when called upon, but with research showing up to twelve and a half hours delay from call out to dispatch, the service is ad-hoc at best. In fact the Air Corps undertakes more missions for ministerial transport than it does for medical emergencies.
The answer lies in a dedicated service along the lines of that proposed by the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Committee. Spearheaded by Mayo GP Dr Jerry Cowley, this group has campaigned for over eight years and has accumulated much evidence to support its aims. Research by the National Neurosurgery Centre in Beaumont Hospital suggests that the further you have to travel - the "at risk" time - to the centre in Dublin the greater the chance of dying or being disabled for life.
British research has shown that dedicated helicopter transfer results in a 50 percent survival rate in severely ill patients, a group found not to survive after land transfer. A helicopter transfer system using suitable equipment and staff has been proven to be a practical and safe method of moving critically ill patients. It is preferable to land transfer for distances in excess of 25 miles. Who would the service help? HEMS would primarily be used for the inter-hospital transfer of very ill people from hospitals outside the eastern region to specialist units in Dublin. But the service will not only benefit those in western parts of the island. The victims of major road traffic accidents in the greater Dublin area would also have their lives saved by the dispatch of a HEMS aircraft to the scene, complete with expert medical help and specialist equipment.
Trauma care specialists speak of the "golden hour" during which it has been shown that the lives of critically ill patients can be saved by expert intervention at the location of a major trauma. So whether it is a severe head injury from a sporting accident or a patient with severe burns from an industrial incident, it is clear that HEMS would save lives and reduce disability. Critically young children would also benefit from a dedicated national paediatric retrieval service. Is it too much to ask that, at a set-up cost of €6 million, we could fill this gap in our health service?