Aim: To analyse the clinical and operational indications for activating the Wellington Life Flight helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) against draft Ministry of Health (MOH) criteria.
Method: Wellington HEMS records for 3 years were reviewed. Details of mission location, timings, medical procedures, patient demographics, and primary reasons for dispatch were analysed.
Results: 471 missions were reviewed. The main reasons for helicopter dispatch were anticipated time savings (47%), geographical access (36%), provision of skills (7%), or a combination (10%). In 62% of total missions, a road ambulance and helicopter were both dispatched. The helicopter was dispatched after the road ambulance had arrived at the scene in 52% of these cases, with a median lag time of 11 minutes and 12 seconds, and median waiting on scene time of 27 minutes 28 seconds. The road ambulance arrived first in 77% of cases. The median arrival time by air was 26 minutes compared to 11 minutes 45 seconds by road. In contrast, the transfer to hospital by helicopter was quicker in 99% of cases, with a median flight time of 15 minutes compared to 49 minutes by road.
Conclusion: Wellington HEMS offers advantage over the road ambulance when dispatched and utilised appropriately. The majority of missions satisfied the MOH activation criteria but time-saving issues became apparent. Changes to the Helicopter Dispatch Flowchart have been proposed as a result. Further studies are required to assess any improvement in HEMS response times as the service develops. This data provides a benchmark for audits of future operational and clinical performance.