Police chopper saves lives
(CNS): The RCIPS helicopter is continuing its work to save lives as well as interdict drug smugglers and other criminals. During the last two weeks of June the chopper was involved in six medical evacuations to Grand Cayman from the Sister Islands: including two on 17 June and four during the following week. A heart patient was taken from Cayman Brac to Health City in East End in one emergency case and a woman in premature labour was taken to the George Town hospital after doctors determined the baby would need critical care.
Two of the evacuations followed diving-related incidents and another followed a motor-vehicle collision, while the fourth was for a critically ill patient who had lost consciousness.
But the success of the missions depends on staff as well as the chopper. As part of the ongoing relationship between the RCIPS and the Health Services Authority, EMS staff and paramedics took part in a training session recently held by the RCIPS Air Operations Unit.
The training included a passenger briefing, and covered topics such as knowing when to approach the aircraft, safety when approaching the aircraft, and what to expect when transferring a patient to and from the aircraft.
“Conducting emergency medical evacuations is one of the primary roles that we use the police helicopter for, working closely with our partners in the HSA,” said Sergeant Neil Mohammed, AOU Deputy Unit Executive Officer, who led the training session. “These kind of trainings help to ensure that we are all on the same page, and can work together safely and efficiently whenever the need arises.”
During the training, there were also discussions about ways to continue to improve the process of conducting medical evacuations, from the perspective of both the helicopter crew and the EMS staff.
“This was a fantastic experience,” said Paramedic Krystal Arch, “It will definitely further improve the emergency medical evacuation services we provide to the Cayman community.”
The AOU will be hosting another training session next week, featuring another eight EMS staff members.
Category: Health, Medical Health
How is this news, are we to give praise to those who do the job we pay them for? Seems like a ploy to further support and justify the acquisition of another chopper.
Cayman Airways also do medivac services but you dont see it in the news. Are they billing these people insurance provider to cover the medivac cost?
Helicopter saves lives and the health insurance companies kill.
No doubt a useful tool, but from the coordinated multi-pronged media PR blitz from RCIPS, we should predictably infer that the damaged chopper can’t be fixed, and that there was insufficient insurance coverage to replace it. How much are we talking about for the next toy RCIPS, why play these spin-games? With all this technology and stealth, will it be possible to learn to burn gas at an altitude greater than a foundation-rattling 500 ft? That would be nice.
This Helicopter is very useful and should get the second one
We have very limited resources as a tiny Overseas Territory, and an existing Police budget already approaching the military budget for a small NATO country in the real world (ie. >$50mln a year). I agree that there should be sufficient capital to buy and operate two helicopters, but when the RCIPS have to dress up the transaction and ramp up PR ahead of a multi-million dollar requisition for further cash, we need to ask where the cash we’ve already allocated has gone, where was the insurance, where, where, where (not why, why, why)?!? The person that should answer is never around…
You have gigantic resources for your size.
I think that every effort should be made to purchase an identical model for the 2nd helicopter that they are looking to get. It would make it much easier for pilot training, maintenance, spare parts, etc., if we had two that are the same make and model.
So proud of my Island! We’ve come a long way!!!!
But still 30 years behind the rest of civilized world.
Excellent work RCIPS. This, you will find will be the best asset these islands will ever invest in. Cayman is not a 3rd world country and this should have been an accessible means of hospital transportation for years. The U.K. has had air ambulance transportation for many years, and has proven to be without doubt a valid mode of transport especially for road traffic accidents. Whatever the cost, it’s worth every cent.