Drugs on an Air Ambulance

[Left Base]

Is there a special dispensation for the carriage of drugs on an air ambulance flight.

[jetopa]

There is. Health professionals can ID themselves as physicians or paramedics and they have a list of what they are carrying with them. If there is no medical need to have 'drugs' onboard, there aren't any.

[Left Base]

thanks. Do you know what the relevant legislation is?

[Miles Magister]

You will get some good advice here, sometimes, but if basing decisions on the answers then it really is best to seek a professional answer. It will not cost very much to commission a brief but you can be confident that you can act on the advice and it is authoritative. There are several consultancies I work for which I therefore can not mention but one company I still use for training and they do aviation and health service work are Global Air Training. I am sure they could help if approached.

[Steak&Kidney_Pie]

Refer to EU-OPS

Airworthiness and Operational Items (OPS 1.1160(b))
An approval is not required for dangerous goods which are required to be aboard the aircraft such as:
(a) Items for airworthiness or operating reasons or for the health of passengers or crew,

Regards,

SKP

[cldrvr]

Almost SKP, ops 1.1160 (a) covers the carriage of medical equipment and drugs explicitly:

(a) articles and substances which would otherwise be classed as dangerous goods but which are not subject to the Technical Instructions in accordance with Part 1 of those Instructions providing that:

(1) when placed on board with the approval of the operator to provide, during flight, medical aid to a patient (See IEM OPS 1.1160(b)(4)), they are:

(i) carried for use in flight; or are part of the permanent equipment of the aeroplane when it has been adapted for specialized use for medical evacuation; or carried on a flight made by the same aeroplane to collect a patient or after that patient has been delivered when it is impracticable to load or unload the goods at the time of the flight on which the patient is carried but with the intention that they be off-loaded as soon a s practicable; and

(ii) when placed on board with the approval of the operator to provide, during flight, medical aid to a patient the dangerous goods shall be restricted to the following and which must be kept in the position in which they are used or stowed securely when not in use and they are secured properly during take off and landing and at all other times when deemed necessary by the commander in the interests of safety:

(a) Gas cylinders which must have been manufactured specifically for the purpose of containing and transporting that particular gas;

(b) Drugs, medicines and other medical matter which must be under the control of trained personnel during the time when they are in use in the aeroplane;

(c) Equipment containing wet cell batteries which must be kept and, when necessary secured, in an upright position to prevent spillage of the electrolyte; and

[Steak&Kidney_Pie]

Almost :ugh:
:ok:

[Left Base]

The thing is I wasn't asking from a dangerous goods angle. It was from a customs view point I was curious. Some of these drugs are basicaly heroin or cocaine and they are being carried accross borders. What is the case for a doctor or nurse who accompanies a sick patient home to the uk with a case full of drugs?

[eyeinthesky]

Doctors and nurses carry a drugs licence which allows them to transit with them.

[Lou Scannon]

In my day in the RAF aircrew were also allowed to carry drugs such as Morphine or amidone in small doses. They were in the small individual FAK and the larger aircraft one.

We were supposed to bang the needle through layers of flying kit into our thighs, then squeeze!

[N707ZS]

The UAE has a banned medication list if you visit there.
http://www.moh.gov.ae/admincp/assetsmanager/files/pharmacusts/updated%20controlled%20medical%20list%20seperated%202007.pdf

[Rory Dixon]

LeftBase, even as a physician you are not allowed (at least in Germany) to carry heroin or cocaine. You are allowed to carry prescription drugs. Narcotics, that includes certain analogs of morphine, are under special legislation, which means there is other legislation to adhere to, not that easy, but possible. At least, if on duty.
To my understanding, as long as the medicine stays on the airplane it remains within the jurisdiction of the airplanes flag. Thus, no customs, the drugs don't leave the country.

[homonculus]

It has nothing to do with the aircraft. Drugs are carried either by patients, in which case they may be asked to prove need (in practice a prescription) or by doctors or nurses. The latter have no 'drug license' in the UK, but can carry drugs for their patients. A doctor is allowed also to carry controlled drugs such as narcotics, and in practice this can be extended to nurses or paramedics.

When entering a foreign country, that country's laws apply if the drugs are in that country's airspace. This is most relevant in the US where diamorphine is totally illegal, so beware if you are carrying it and divert! Also in practice you cant practice as a doctor or nurse in the US unless you are registered there and so you cannot carry drugs which require the order of a physician. Air ambulances bypass this by using a US ambulance partner who take responsibility from landing in the US whilst the UK team continue in attendance.

Some other countries have other regulations especially the UAE who wont allow some drugs.

At the end of the day the medical team shouldnt be doing transfers if they dont know the rules. IMHO it is not up to the flight crew to monitor drug inventories even though they may well be drawn in if it goes wrong

[prx]

As regards Paramedics, they can possess and administer meds under exemptions in the Medicines Act and the various Prescription Only Medicine (Human Use) Orders

There's some info here.

Paramedics: Exemptions : MHRA (http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Howweregulate/Medicines/Availabilityprescribingsellingandsupplyingofmedicines/ExemptionsfromMedicinesActrestrictions/Paramedics/index.htm)

Note that morphine which is a schedule 2 controlled drug (in the UK) is included.

If the (air) ambulance carries a doctor, then (almost) any medicine could be carried.

As for taking patients abroad whilst in possession of drugs that may be illegal at the destination.... You don't do it. Enquiries about the legality should be made prior to departure.