MAS Service Area

1
MAS Service Area

• 9,000 square kilometers
• Extends from Melbourne Central Business District
  to peripheral rural communities

2
Aggregate Caseload

• Emergency Operations 251,033
• Non-Emergency Operations 167,845
• Air Ambulance 6,570
• TOTAL 425,448

3
Victoria v's UK
UK 242,000 km2 Population 59,723,243
VIC 227,416 km2 Population 4,822,663
4
Responsibility

• AAV is responsible for all aspects of Aeromedical
  Services
• selection (RAV / MAS representatives)
• training
• staff accountability
• clinical standards
• medical standards
• budget

5
Integrated Statewide System Approach

• Coordination of
• Fixed Wing
• Helicopters
• Road resources

6
Coordination

• Flight Coordination Centre
• Flight Coordinators - experienced Flight
  Paramedics
• 24 hour staffing
• Coordination of all (DHS) Aeromedical Aircraft
  operations

7
Location

• Fixed Wing Helicopters - statewide resource
• IHT - local - to Melbourne
• Motor Vehicle Accidents
• Major Incident
• Industrial (including farm accidents)
• Medical - Primary
• High Country - winter/summer
• Search Rescue onshore/offshore

8
Fixed Wing

• Four Fixed Wing Pressurised Aircraft
• Approximately 4,800 patients per year
• 75 routine patients
• 25 urgent patients (ambulance IHT, NETS, PETS,
  VAERCS)

9
Fixed wing Beechcraft B200 Super King Air
10
Fixed Wing Transfers

• Routine Urgent Transfers
• Retrievals with
• Air MICA
• PETS
• NETS
• VAERCS
• PERS

11
Helicopters

• Three dedicated Ambulance Helicopters
• 1800 Cases per year
• 60 Primary
• 40 Secondary
• Airbourne 80 of the time in 10 minutes

12
Essendon
13
Bendigo Latrobe Valley
14
Primary Response
15
AAV Operational Staff

• MICA Flight Paramedic
• Senior MICA Paramedic
• Large range of pre-hospital drug therapies and
  skills
• Additional skills to road MICA Paramedics

• Flight Paramedic

• Senior ALS Paramedic
• Additional skills to road Ambulance Paramedic

16
Selection Requirements

• Theoretical examination
• Medical examination
• Psychological examination
• - acrophobia

17
Selection Requirements

• Familiarisation flight
• Physical fitness test
• Swimming test
• Scenario
• Interview panel
• Referees

18
Training

• Six week course
• Two months in-flight
• supervised training
• Three months probation

• 5 weeks classroom
• Aviation Medicine
• Aviation Safety
• Civil Aviation Regulations
• 4 days winch training

19
Triple Zero (000)

• Call triple zero (000) and ask for Ambulance
• Questions you will be asked
• What is the exact location of the emergency?
• What is your call-back telephone number?
• What happened?
• Is the person conscious?
• Is the person breathing?
• What is the age of the person?
• Do not hang up!
• Follow instructions offered by the call taker
  while the ambulance is on its way

20
Communication

• Call 000
• Geographical Response
• Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS)
• Rural Ambulance Service (RAV)

21
Communication
MAS Automatic Notification 26 case types
22
(No Transcript)
23
Communication
MAS Automatic Notification 26 case types
Location Clinician
24
Communication
RAV Call directed to one of 5 regional Operations
Centres If required AAV requested for assistance
25
Communication

• Telephone is preferred (Sat phone)
• Helicopter has the following
• Mobile phone
• VHF
• UHF
• SMR
• Wulfsberg can tune to virtually any
  radio frequency

26
Location

• GPS note the format
• Degrees, minutes, seconds
• Degrees and decimals of degrees

Latitude and longitude Map reference Grid
reference
27
Location
Homer

• The aircraft can home in on emergency locator
  beacons or other radio transmissions (if
  frequency is known)

Hello? Operator! Give me the number for
911! Homer Simpson
28
Landing Site Preparation
Only one person should have responsibility for
preparation of landing site Preferably have
communications with the aircraft Smoke smoke
flares or smokey fire, assists with location and
wind direction
29
Obstacles
LOOK UP NOTE Power, telephone wires Antennas
Trees Ground obstructions star posts Also
note livestock etc Debris
30
Indicate the Location of the Helipad By

• An individual standing at the edge of and
  facing the intended helipad with arms raised
  (back to the wind).
• Upon sighting the aircraft and within
  reasonable range activating a smoke flare on
  the downwind side of the Helipad.

31
Emergency Helipad
Size of two tennis courts
32
Emergency Helipad
33
Sloping Ground
Maximum of 8 or 18
34
Safety During Landing
Disorientation crouch down and await assistance
from aircrew
35
Safety During Landing
Disorientation crouch down and await assistance
from aircrew
Do not approach aircraft until blades have
completely stopped
Watch for bystanders and keep them clear
36
Patient Preparation

• Clothing
• Jewellery
• Personal information
• Incident information
• Medical history

37
Patient Preparation

• Time on ground may be reduced due to operational
  limitations-
• Fuel
• Weather
• Time in hover

38
Patient Preparation
Winching Wire - 76 m or 272 feet Maximum of 2
people (272 kg) Strop band under arms from
standing or sitting position Stretcher and tag
line