Polish Medical Air Rescue » When should you call a helicopter

When should you call a helicopter

HEMS teams (helicopter) should be called in the following situations:
- time needed for transport by air from the scene/place of call in a state of emergency, to the proper medical facility is shorter than time needed to transport by other means and might be advantageous for further treatment;
- there are circumstances which might prevent or significantly delay others means of rescue to the victim in the state of emergency (eg.: topography)
- mass events (sudden threat, for which the need for medical rescue operations exceeds the capabilities of means present at the scene, and there is a need for segregation understood as setting treatment – transport priotities);
- states of emergency (other than those specified below) requiring urgent care of a medical rescue team;
- unconscious patient;
- sudden cardiac arrest;
- acute cardiological conditions;
- hypertensive crisis;
- stroke;
- traffic accidents;
- fall from a height;
- burying, avalanche;
- polytrauma;
- head injury requiring urgent neurosurgical intervention;
- spinal injury with paraplegia, quadriplegia or symptoms lateralization;
- penetrating trauma to the neck, chest or abdomen;
- two or more fractures of long bones;
- severe pelvic injury;
- traumatic amputation of limbs;
- II° and IIIº burns that cover more than 20% body surface area burns, suspected respiratory burns, electric burns, explosions and fires;
- hypothermia;
- drowning.
There exists a possibility of not completing the rescue mission because of the threats regarding the flight safety, as well as operational and legal limitations

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When should you call a helicopter

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