Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Response Times in Norway: Do They Matter?

Zakariassen, Erik; Uleberg, Oddvar; Røislien, Jo

doi:10.1016/j.amj.2014.11.003

Cited by 30 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The Norwegian HEMS use rate has been suggested to be as low as 11 primary missions with patient encounter per 10,000 inhabitants (obtained by extrapolating the incidence of patient encounters in a prospective registration during 4 weeks), and even lower, at 7.5, using data from the Norwegian Air Ambulance Service 14, 16. The discrepancy from our results (21.3) is most likely due to differences in study design, data definitions, and services included.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[4][5][6] Several HEMS have published their experiences, 4,5,[7][8][9][10][11] but comparing such services is challenging. 12 Some publications have described the Norwegian and Scandinavian emergency medical services, 3,[13][14][15][16] and the Norwegian National Air Ambulance Service publishes a short annual report based on data from each HEMS base. 17 Anesthesiologists in pre-hospital emergency services are common in Scandinavia, and Norway has a long tradition of staffing HEMS with an anesthesiologist as the emergency physician.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Helicopter‐based emergency medical services for a sparsely populated region: A study of 42,500 dispatches

Østerås

Brattebø

Heltne

2015

Acta Anaesthesiol Scand

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BackgroundThe Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in Norway is operated day and night, despite challenging geography and weather. In Western Norway, three ambulance helicopters, with a rapid response car as an alternative, cover close to 1 million inhabitants in an area of 45,000 km2. Our objective was to assess patterns of emergency medical problems and treatments in HEMS in a geographically large, but sparsely populated region.MethodsData from all HEMS dispatches during 2004–2013 were assessed retrospectively. Information was analyzed with respect to patient treatment and characteristics, in addition to variations in services use during the day, week, and seasons.ResultsA total of 42,456 dispatches were analyzed. One third of the patients encountered were severely ill or injured, and two thirds of these received advanced treatment. Median activation time and on‐scene time in primary helicopter missions were 5 and 11 min, respectively. Most patients (95%) were reached within 45 min by helicopter or rapid response car. Patterns of use did not change. More than one third of all dispatches were declined or aborted, mostly due to no longer medical indication, bad weather conditions, or competing missions.ConclusionOne third of the patients encountered were severely ill or injured, and more than two thirds of these received advanced treatment. HEMS use did not change over the 10‐year period, however HEMS use peaked during daytime, weekends, and the summer. More than one third of all dispatches were declined or aborted.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Helicopter‐based emergency medical services for a sparsely populated region: A study of 42,500 dispatches

Østerås

Brattebø

Heltne

2015

Acta Anaesthesiol Scand

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“…In addition, several scoring systems have been used to measure the severity of illness or the trauma in pre‐hospital settings . The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Severity Score is widely used in European HEMS bases and in studies of pre‐hospital emergency care to report the severity of the pre‐hospital condition of patients treated by emergency medical services . However, the NACA score has been criticized for its subjectivity …”

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confidence: 99%

Evaluating helicopter emergency medical missions: a reliability study of the HEMS benefit and NACA scores

Raatiniemi

Liisanantti

Tommila

et al. 2017

Acta Anaesthesiol Scand

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“…A study from the Polish Medical Air Rescue found that the median time from activation to stroke patient transfer was 60 min [16]. Furthermore, a study from the Norwegian Air Ambulance Service indicated that it took 19 min flying time on average to reach PE patients [17]. However, the median flight time from mobilisation to scene (i.e., flight time to patient) by the RFDS was 58 min (as detailed in Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aeromedical Retrieval for Stroke in Australia

et al. 2020

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Introduction: Rural, remote, and Indigenous stroke patients have worse stroke outcomes than urban Australians. This may be due to lack of timely access to expert facilities. Objectives: We aimed to describe the characteristics of patients who underwent aeromedical retrieval for stroke, estimate transfer times, and investigate if flight paths corresponded with the locations of stroke units (SUs) throughout Australia. Methods: Prospective review of routinely collected Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) data. Patients who underwent an RFDS aeromedical retrieval for stroke, July 2014-June 2018 (ICD-10 codes: I60-I69), were included. To define the locations of SUs throughout Australia, we accessed data from the 2017 National Stroke Audit. The main outcome measures included determining the characteristics of patients with an in-flight diagnosis of stroke, their subsequent pickup and transfer locations, and corresponding SU and imaging capacity. Results: The RFDS conducted 1,773 stroke aeromedical retrievals, consisting of 1,028 (58%) male and 1,481 (83.5%) non-Indigenous and 292 (16.5%) Indigenous patients. Indigenous patients were a decade younger, 56.0 (interquartile range [IQR] 45.0-64.0), than non-Indigenous patients, 66.0 (IQR 54.0-76.0). The most common diagnosis was "stroke not specified," reflecting retrieval locations without imaging capability. The estimated median time for aeromedical retrieval was 238 min (95% confidence interval: 231-244). Patients were more likely to be transferred to an area with SU and imaging capability (both p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Stroke patients living in rural areas were younger than those living in major cities (75 years, Stroke Audit Data), with aeromedically retrieved Indigenous patients being a decade younger than non-Indigenous patients. The current transfer times are largely outside the time windows for reperfusion methods. Future research should aim to facilitate more timely diagnosis and treatment of stroke.

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Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Response Times in Norway: Do They Matter?

Abstract: The government's expectation of serving the entire population via HEMS within 45 minutes appears to be achieved on a national level. However, vast differences remain in the flying times and rates between bases.

Cited by 30 publications

References 17 publications

Helicopter‐based emergency medical services for a sparsely populated region: A study of 42,500 dispatches

Helicopter‐based emergency medical services for a sparsely populated region: A study of 42,500 dispatches

Evaluating helicopter emergency medical missions: a reliability study of the HEMS benefit and NACA scores

Aeromedical Retrieval for Stroke in Australia

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