From the Daily Telegraph in Australia:
AIR ambulance helicopter crews are collapsing with heat exhaustion on rescue flights because temperatures in the non-air-conditioned cabins sometimes hit 50C.
The extreme heat has caused crew to vomit mid-air requiring injections and medication. One doctor was so badly affected he was "unable to perform his clinical duties".
The Daily Telegraph can also reveal that a window fell out of one of the state's new ambulance helicopters over Liverpool in Sydney's southwest on Saturday after crew members tried to open it for ventilation.
The aircraft, on its way to a hang-glider crash at Wilton, was forced to return to base and has been out of action since.
Emails discussing the impact of the cost-saving measures in the ambulance helicopter rescue service reveal heat-stressed crews have been forced to ask pilots to slow the choppers to under 100 knots so they can open a door to get air.
One crewman, who did not wish to be identified, said yesterday the issue was expected to come to a head at a occupational health and safety meeting later this week.
"Crews are being incapacitated by the heat - they are feeling physically exhausted and faint and some have vomited in flight," he said.
Opposition health spokeswoman Jillian Skinner accused the State Government of taking short cuts with the helicopter service that potentially endangered lives.
"Not only patients but doctors and crew who fly often under heroic circumstances are at risk here," she said.
"This is penny-pinching at its worst, saving money on essentials such as air-conditioning which is part of a standard fit-out on these helicopters."
Canadian company CHC last year won the $270 million contract to provide the ambulance helicopters but the aircraft they provided came without air-conditioning.
A spokeswoman for the ambulance service said last night it would meet aviation engineers soon "to evaluate a a number of options".
The spokeswoman said experts advised that air-conditioning would be used only on a few days each year.
"The crews are trialling cool packs on very hot days to ensure they keep hydrated and have a break if required when carrying out several missions in a row."
Emails reveal the ambulance choppers heat up dangerously while sitting in the sun at airstrips while waiting to take off. They indicate crews have been warned: "If you are affected by heat stress please report it immediately to the crew and abort the mission if necessary before you become a victim.
"Unlike a hot car, in a helicopter the crew must wear thick fireproof flight suits, boots, gloves, helmets - so it really is an issue."
Helicopter medics in meltdown | The Daily Telegraph