An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 15 capt Paul grennan (co-pilot): "It's a nice change from the normal working day, it can be very busy but with that it can also be a very rewarding job, helping those in need of medical assistance" Sgt val Murray (crewman eMt): "It's the best thing we can do in our job. It's by far the most rewarding job I do, between the crew there's great comradary. And nothing can beat that feel- ing of meeting a patient that you've helped in the past through the service" Sgt Sylvester Johnson (Maintenance inspector): "Most rewarding part is the day to day work that helps save peoples lives, lads will tell you the same thing. It's the impact our work has that's the main thing" cpl Phil Byrne (Maintenance techni- cian): "Out of all the things we do, this one has to have the most impact for the public. This job is never a training exercise, it's all real life in real time" kieran henry (naS advanced para- medic): "There's a good combination of teamwork with the fusion of two ser- vices, with the one goal to achieve the optimum care for those people in need of assistance" The P1 and a maintenance technician immediately head to the aircraft to get it started up and ready to fly. The rest of the crew start planning the route to the lift and to the drop-off point for the patient, whether it be a hospital or a waiting ambulance, checking the weather for the whole route. The P2 uses Health Atlas to determine the landing zone (LZ) and Ordnance Survey Ireland and Google Maps for info on roads, grasslands, electrical wires and anything else that may affect choosing an LZ. Once all the info is gathered it's printed out for use en route, and the crew move to the heli. While the P1 and P2 fly the aircraft to the LZ, the crewman is also checking and confirm- ing that the navigation is correct. Once the LZ is located the heli lands and the AP, with the assistance of the EMT crewman, goes to work assisting with moving the patient into the heli. If it's a quick extraction the pilot will leave the rotors running so as not to cause any delay. The pilot also programmes the flight management system with the next route and ensures there is enough fuel to continue. After the crewman has confirmed with the pilots that it's safe to bring the patient aboard, he/she is boarded as quickly as it is safe to do so. During the flight the AP administers any medical aid that they can to try to keep the patient in a stable condition, constantly monitoring the patient and also communicating with the destination hospital. The EMT crewman goes back to checking navigation while also giving the AP any possible assistance. Once the destination is reached the AP exits the heli with the patient and hands over to the waiting medical staff, be it ambulance crew or hospital staff, giving them any info they may need. Once a job is completed the NACC often have another waiting for the crew. The new route must be planned quickly and sitreps done straight away as the crew may not be back at home base for several hours. Throughout the mission, the maintenance crew back in barracks are constantly updating Air Corps HQ and DFHQ of the situation. They are also ready to head out to deal with any mechanical or electrical issue that may arise with the heli. After the flight crew are stood-down for the day, these unsung heroes have to continue working, giving the heli its daily inspection and dealing with any issues that may have arisen from the day's flights. With the service completing its 1,000th mission, Minister for Defence Simon Coveney TD and Minister for Health Leo Varadkar TD had nothing but praise for the EAS at a special event held in Casement Aerodrome on 11th June 2015. Minister Coveney said: "Whilst the Air Corps has certainly set the benchmark during the pilot phase, and will continue to provide the service at its current level, as would be expected in implementing the report we must, and indeed are obliged to, keep an open mind as to the many different ways of providing the service, and to keep all options under consideration in the context of ensuring a sustainable long term arrangement." Minister Varadkar TD said: "I congratulate the staff of the Air Corps, the National Ambu- lance Service, and the Coast Guard for completing 1,000 missions on the 26th May last. This is a great example of what can be achieved by government departments working in partner- ship. This service has been a great step forward in providing access to specialised emergency treatment for patients living in remoter areas. It is also of significance that one third of the missions have been in response to STEMI heart attacks, and have allowed these patients to be treated in a specialist setting within 90 minutes of diagnosis." A massive thank you must be given to the men and women who provide this service. Without it many may not be here today, or may not have their current quality of life, and for that the Emergency Aeromedical Service must be commended. Vox Pops Minister for Health Leo Varadkar TD speaking at the EAS special event in Casement Aerodrome on 11th June 2015. Photo by: Cpl Brian Doherty, 105 Sqn

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