One of the helicopters used by the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) will be flying over the Isle of Man today taking part in a communications testing exercise prior to the official go-live of the HEMS service trial (Helicopter Emergency Transfer Service).
The HEMS helicopter will be flying over the Noble’s Hospital site in Strang, including the helipad area situated just off the main hospital drive. The helicopter will not be landing today; however, given that it may attract attention from people attending the hospital site, Manx Care would like to reassure members of the public that there is nothing to worry about.
The HEMS service is being provided by GNAAS on an initial six-month trial basis, and will be used to transport patients who are incredibly sick or who have suffered a major trauma to a specialist emergency care centre in the North West of England as quickly as possible. The GNAAS team is able to administer pre-hospital trauma care, providing emergency treatment and things such as blood transfusions at the scene of traumatic incidents, with the HEMS crew consisting of both specialist Doctors and Paramedics. Establishing a 24/7 emergency air bridge is one of the 26 recommendations made by Sir Jonathan Michael as part of his review into the provision of health and social care on the Island.
The HEMS service will complement the fixed-wing air ambulance provision provided by the Air Ambulance team based at Noble’s Hospital.
