Integrated Emergency Service

[Droopystop]

A comment by Crab on the Air Ambulance thread and rumours of SAR harmonisation got me thinking. It seems that there are occasions where AA are tasked with SAR type taskings and vice versa. Although no one seems to know very much about it, preparations for harmonisation are being made and I suspect it will happen sooner than some would like.

So what is harmonisation going to mean for the existing SAR assets and would there be a benefit for both the casualty and taxpayer if SAR, HEMS and police airborne resources are allocated by a single agency? It would mean big changes, but it seems to me that if you were to start from scatch, it would be the way to go.

[huntnhound]

I couldnt agree more.
Its long overdue and its ridiculous in this day and age that
1. AA is run on charity and
2. All the different units are purchasing items individually ie suits, helmets etc...not to mention aircraft.

HH

[pilotwolf]

Hmmm... welcome to the real world?

HH
1. This will never change all the while the UK health service is 100% goverment funded. Nor while the patients' welfare/survival chances come second to meeting budget targets.
2. Isn't this the same the world over? And since the (Tory - no political bias..) goverment broke the UK ambulance services, (and the rest of the NHS), into trusts you will never again have any unity in purchasing or usage of equipment from syringes to helicopters.

And I may be wrong but I always understood that the forces' SAR only operated on civie tasks as a good will gesture?

Don't think there is an easy answer to this one.... :(

PW

[huntnhound]

Pilotwolf,

Agreed.

The Police units have no such arguement though, all their budget comes from government, with funding depending on the amount of residents.
Thats why the Met can go out and buy three shiny new 145`s in one foul swoop.
How easy would it be to
1. have every Police unit working 24hr?
2. Regionalise?

HH

[Thud_and_Blunder]

Regionalise? Yes! In fact, why not have one National Police Force instead of 50+ individual constabularies. Nahhh, that'd be daft. It'd be like having one national Air Force, or Navy, or... doh! (Cue volrider's .wma clip)

:cool:

[huntnhound]

Ooooh! Thud!

Wheres your next job coming from then?(when PAS go bust)

You are right.

The bean counters will count todays beans only and buggar tomorrows beans:hmm:

In the UK it has to be driven by the Home Office...fat chance

HH

[mctavish]

HH

"Thats why the Met can go out and buy three shiny new 135`s in one foul swoop."


I assume that this was a typo - the Met are actually buying three new EC145s in one foul swoop

McT

[Thud_and_Blunder]

Is the tail rotor on the 145 as noisy as the one on the Devon & Cornwall 117? Feel sorry for the non-London ratepayers living near the Met base if that's the case. Oh, and does no-one do "fell" swoops any more?

[PANews]

The tail rotor on the EC145 is remarkably quiet. Probably not as quiet as either the Explorer or the 135 but mere human ears would be hard pressed to tell.

It just goes to show that all this tosh about taking special means [Notar and Fenestron] is apparently wide of the mark.

If they can quieten the 117 [into the 145] how come Bell are now looking at fitting a giant fan on the back of a 407 and ruining is sleek lines!

So, as the Met may be basing their new fleet near here [for a little while anyway] I guess the neighbours may not be quite so revolting as they were with the 355s!