Air Ambulance flights in Europe
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Air Ambulance flights in Europe
I was back in Ireland a while ago and got talking to some guys who flew for small operators out of the UK.
The subject came to Air Ambulance flights and the fact that in Europe there is not the same priority given to Med flights as there is in the USA.
In Europe you seem to only get priority when there is a patient on board who has a life threatening illness and needs urgent attention....
In the USA all ambulance flights are given a "lifeguard" call sign and ANY aircraft operating with this call sign albeit organs or an actual patient are given priority treatment over all commercial traffic whereas Europe is a very different situation.
Just wondering if something like this should be implemented in Europe and that way it would help the pilots get to where they re going easier and more quickly
I flew a trip one time with a "lifeguard" call sign and leaving Dallas Ft Worth we were given a clearance of "direct Miami" and upon entering Miami's airspace we were given a priority approach and all they wanted to know was which FBO we were being met at and that was that...
no questions about how critical the patient was....just a standard priority clearance and everyone knew what we were about...
If i was ever in the situation of needing an organ or being a patient i would definately hope i would get what i wanted asap rather than on the whim of a controller(no offence to ATC)
Perhaps this should be changed in Europe????
The subject came to Air Ambulance flights and the fact that in Europe there is not the same priority given to Med flights as there is in the USA.
In Europe you seem to only get priority when there is a patient on board who has a life threatening illness and needs urgent attention....
In the USA all ambulance flights are given a "lifeguard" call sign and ANY aircraft operating with this call sign albeit organs or an actual patient are given priority treatment over all commercial traffic whereas Europe is a very different situation.
Just wondering if something like this should be implemented in Europe and that way it would help the pilots get to where they re going easier and more quickly
I flew a trip one time with a "lifeguard" call sign and leaving Dallas Ft Worth we were given a clearance of "direct Miami" and upon entering Miami's airspace we were given a priority approach and all they wanted to know was which FBO we were being met at and that was that...
no questions about how critical the patient was....just a standard priority clearance and everyone knew what we were about...
If i was ever in the situation of needing an organ or being a patient i would definately hope i would get what i wanted asap rather than on the whim of a controller(no offence to ATC)
Perhaps this should be changed in Europe????
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I must admit I never understood why I could use the "British Medical" callsign with a patient on board, but could not when positioning to pick up one seriously ill punter to take him to hospital.
There is not much requirement in the UK to use Medical callsigns for organ delivery flights since, in general, flight distances are far less than in the USA and, consequently, flight times far less. UKTFT (or whatever they're called nowadays) factor in the whole of the flight time expected. Normal maximum organ life from harvesting to implanting is, I am reliably informed, about 24 hours, well outside maximum UK delivery schedules (at that, one could almost send it by Parcel Force!
) This would not normally be possible within the USA.
Unless anyone else knows better?
There is not much requirement in the UK to use Medical callsigns for organ delivery flights since, in general, flight distances are far less than in the USA and, consequently, flight times far less. UKTFT (or whatever they're called nowadays) factor in the whole of the flight time expected. Normal maximum organ life from harvesting to implanting is, I am reliably informed, about 24 hours, well outside maximum UK delivery schedules (at that, one could almost send it by Parcel Force!
) This would not normally be possible within the USA.Unless anyone else knows better?
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In the UK the priority given to a particular flight is based on the Priority stated on the flight plan. The categories of interest are
with 'normal flights' down the lis below Category E.
Although there may not be a specific callsign used by the aircraft, all controllers should be aware of the type of flight and the priority that it should be afforded.
Category A - Aircraft in emergency (e.g. engine fault, fuel shortage, seriously ill passenger). Aircraft which have declared a 'Police Emergency'.
Ambulance/Medical aircraft when the safety of life is involved.
Category B - Flights operating for search and rescue or other humanitarian reasons. Post accident flight checks. Other flights, including Open Skies Flights, authorised by the CAA.
Ambulance/Medical aircraft when the safety of life is involved.
Category B - Flights operating for search and rescue or other humanitarian reasons. Post accident flight checks. Other flights, including Open Skies Flights, authorised by the CAA.
Although there may not be a specific callsign used by the aircraft, all controllers should be aware of the type of flight and the priority that it should be afforded.
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Mission possible
One month ago we recieved urgent call for medevac flight from
Pristina (LYPR) to Belgrade (LYBE). Pristina airport is in Kosovo airspace which is special air safety zone under NATO supervision. Obtaining clearance to enter, could take up to four days, but we managed to recieve it in two hours, thanks to NATO command in Italy and at Pristina airport. We decleared ourselves as Medical flight in our flight plan, and recieved direct routing and priority in landing even on the repositioning leg from Belgrade to Pristina. The patient was one baby in serious medical condition.
Time from first call to mission completed: 4 hours 30 minutes
Pristina (LYPR) to Belgrade (LYBE). Pristina airport is in Kosovo airspace which is special air safety zone under NATO supervision. Obtaining clearance to enter, could take up to four days, but we managed to recieve it in two hours, thanks to NATO command in Italy and at Pristina airport. We decleared ourselves as Medical flight in our flight plan, and recieved direct routing and priority in landing even on the repositioning leg from Belgrade to Pristina. The patient was one baby in serious medical condition.
Time from first call to mission completed: 4 hours 30 minutes
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I used to work for Parcel Force, trust me, it would get lost!
Having flown Air Taxi/Ambulance for a few years, I must say that in my experience, as long as your status as a hospital flight was specified on the flight plan, ATC (all over Western Europe at least) has always bent over backwards to ensure direct routings as often as possible. If they didn't immediately offer such routings, we only had to ask.
Having flown Air Taxi/Ambulance for a few years, I must say that in my experience, as long as your status as a hospital flight was specified on the flight plan, ATC (all over Western Europe at least) has always bent over backwards to ensure direct routings as often as possible. If they didn't immediately offer such routings, we only had to ask.
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I'm with overdoverover on this one.
My few years of regular ambulance flights were never met with any difficulties. As I remember it didn't you have to put the type of flight down as an 'x' on the flight plan?
I recall asking London Control if they could co-ordinate with Heathrow to get me a runway change at EGLL to save on taxi time with a live organ in transit. Hey presto, I landed on the opposite end to the runways in use.....at 8am in the morning!! Quite something by the controllers I felt and it's a shame the donor recipient never got to hear of the story. Having said that it then took me 6 hours to get a slot out again!!!!!!! Arggghhhh!
PP
My few years of regular ambulance flights were never met with any difficulties. As I remember it didn't you have to put the type of flight down as an 'x' on the flight plan?
I recall asking London Control if they could co-ordinate with Heathrow to get me a runway change at EGLL to save on taxi time with a live organ in transit. Hey presto, I landed on the opposite end to the runways in use.....at 8am in the morning!! Quite something by the controllers I felt and it's a shame the donor recipient never got to hear of the story. Having said that it then took me 6 hours to get a slot out again!!!!!!! Arggghhhh!
PP
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Just want to add that in Austria ( and as far as I know also in the rest of Europe ) all flights for transplantation purposes are treated with the highest priority; that means just like a SAR-flight.
Since I spent some years in air ambulance business and still am sometimes involved in organ transports, I can assure you that there were never ever any troubles in getting any directs. As many flights are performed thru the nite, it often happens that you takeoff in for instance in EHAM and the next sector tells you "Direct WGM" ( LOWW ). So what more could you ask for ?!
Take care, all of you and lets hope that you have a very happy christmas and new year !!!
Since I spent some years in air ambulance business and still am sometimes involved in organ transports, I can assure you that there were never ever any troubles in getting any directs. As many flights are performed thru the nite, it often happens that you takeoff in for instance in EHAM and the next sector tells you "Direct WGM" ( LOWW ). So what more could you ask for ?!
Take care, all of you and lets hope that you have a very happy christmas and new year !!!
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My "significant other" is a flight nurse on a helicopter in the US. They don't always use lifeguard, but if they need to they do, and they immediately go to number one in the system. They will call lifeguard without patients on board if they need to get somewhere quick, and nobody in ATC questions. They don't abuse the system of course.
It was especially of use recently when Dubya came to town, and large swathes of class B airspace were shut down for His Glorious Excellency. By calling 'lifeguard' they were immediately cleared into places where us lesser mortals were not welcome.
They were also flying within a few hours of the Towers coming down on Sept 11th, though always had company within shooting distance
It was especially of use recently when Dubya came to town, and large swathes of class B airspace were shut down for His Glorious Excellency. By calling 'lifeguard' they were immediately cleared into places where us lesser mortals were not welcome.
They were also flying within a few hours of the Towers coming down on Sept 11th, though always had company within shooting distance
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I operate with a Lifeguard callsign about 20% of the time. Most controllers are really good about working with us, including Europe. Once in a while, I'll actually get assigned an arrival, but only into places like LAX during push. If I am real time critical, I will attempt to "negotiate" with ATC. (When I say real time critical, I mean patient coding or heart on board.)
The priority handling we recieve, sometimes at the expense of everyone else, is something we never use lightly or take for granted. I wish the controllers and pilots of AC that get speed restricted and/or turned could read the letters we get. Come to think of it, why not? Here's just one flight:
"Dear XXX,
On December XX, XXXX a patient at the XXXXXX Medical Center in XXXX, became an organ donor. I want to thank you for your excellent service and share with you the outcome of our endeavour.
XXXXXX's heart went to a 41-year-old man suffering from a disease of the heart muscle where it loses it's ability to pump blood effectively His transplant went well and he is recovering in the ICU. His wife of 21 years is anxious to bring him home.
The recipient of XXXXXXX's liver is a 42-year-old man suffering from hepatitis. his recovery from the sucessful transplant has been remarkable and he is anxious to return home to his two children. He had been waiting for this second chance at life for nearly a year.
The recipient of XXXXXX's right kidney is a 53-year-old man who has hypertension. He has endured dialysis for almost two years. He is recovering well. He was exceptionally compliant and motivated to have a transplant. His family is very supportive and thankfull for this opportunity.
The left kidney and pancreas went to a 52-year-old suffering from diabetes. She has also endured dialysis for almost two years, and is overwhelmed at the possibility of life without it She is recovering well and is looking forward to returning home to her husband and two children.
Thank you again for assiting in the donation process. You were part of a team effort that gave the gift of life to several people. If you have any questions, please feel free to call."
I always enjoy getting these letters. They help remind me why I have to get up at 0200 and go flying when I'd rather be asleep. Concerning times on organs Captain Stable, the human heart is limited to 4 hours chest to chest. 24 hours is more of a tissue thing.
Warmest Regards to All!
The priority handling we recieve, sometimes at the expense of everyone else, is something we never use lightly or take for granted. I wish the controllers and pilots of AC that get speed restricted and/or turned could read the letters we get. Come to think of it, why not? Here's just one flight:
"Dear XXX,
On December XX, XXXX a patient at the XXXXXX Medical Center in XXXX, became an organ donor. I want to thank you for your excellent service and share with you the outcome of our endeavour.
XXXXXX's heart went to a 41-year-old man suffering from a disease of the heart muscle where it loses it's ability to pump blood effectively His transplant went well and he is recovering in the ICU. His wife of 21 years is anxious to bring him home.
The recipient of XXXXXXX's liver is a 42-year-old man suffering from hepatitis. his recovery from the sucessful transplant has been remarkable and he is anxious to return home to his two children. He had been waiting for this second chance at life for nearly a year.
The recipient of XXXXXX's right kidney is a 53-year-old man who has hypertension. He has endured dialysis for almost two years. He is recovering well. He was exceptionally compliant and motivated to have a transplant. His family is very supportive and thankfull for this opportunity.
The left kidney and pancreas went to a 52-year-old suffering from diabetes. She has also endured dialysis for almost two years, and is overwhelmed at the possibility of life without it She is recovering well and is looking forward to returning home to her husband and two children.
Thank you again for assiting in the donation process. You were part of a team effort that gave the gift of life to several people. If you have any questions, please feel free to call."
I always enjoy getting these letters. They help remind me why I have to get up at 0200 and go flying when I'd rather be asleep. Concerning times on organs Captain Stable, the human heart is limited to 4 hours chest to chest. 24 hours is more of a tissue thing.
Warmest Regards to All!
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Attention LJDRVR !
Just a question : Did one (your?!) team explant all these organs or did you fly all these organs out of "your" TX-Center ? Rather unusual (at least in Europe) that only one team explants all the organs and brings them to only one center ? Merry X-mas !
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Callsignonly,
Not always, but it does happen. By the time they are sick enough to be at the top of a donor list, these patients are usually in one of the big city hospitals. Looking at my logbook, we did the heart and liver and kidneys on the letter I posted. Usually, you would either fly the heart team or the liver team. Sometimes the O.R. times and logistics work out to where you do both. An average transplant would go something like this:
A/C number one picks up coordinator and takes them to patient. when we block in, the local coordinator hans us a bag of blood and tissue samples. Which we take back to the airport of departure. Sometimes that's it and we go home, leaving the other flying for the next crew in about 12-24 hours, or we'll go fetch a liver or heart team. The liver team opens, followed by the heart team harvesting. The heart team + cooler is then returned. Sometimes I'll fly a liver team in, several minutes later the heart team will arrive on a different A/C from a different city. two hours later they are gone, followed shorly thereafter by our PAX returning with the liver. (Often the liver team will harvest the kidneys and/or pancreas as well.
One of the realy neat things we get to do now are pancreas islet cell seperation flights. We'll take a pancreas down to Miami, where they have developed a technique using a centrifuge, among other things, to extract islet cells. About a day later, we head back down to MIA with a lab tech on board to pick up the cells. (The cells have to be "moved around" to remain viable.) Once back in Texas, these cells are injected into the liver of a type 1 diabetic who is nearly comatose due to insulin resistance. The person's liver then starts secreting insulin. The effects are temporary, but it does save their life and I understand the medical aspects of this are really cutting edge and may lead to more new advances.
For me, it's a real treat to get to use my skills as a pilot being involved with helping others save lives. And they pay me to fly Learjets on top of it! What a delightful scam.
Hope I've answered your question,
Take care,
LJDRVR
Not always, but it does happen. By the time they are sick enough to be at the top of a donor list, these patients are usually in one of the big city hospitals. Looking at my logbook, we did the heart and liver and kidneys on the letter I posted. Usually, you would either fly the heart team or the liver team. Sometimes the O.R. times and logistics work out to where you do both. An average transplant would go something like this:
A/C number one picks up coordinator and takes them to patient. when we block in, the local coordinator hans us a bag of blood and tissue samples. Which we take back to the airport of departure. Sometimes that's it and we go home, leaving the other flying for the next crew in about 12-24 hours, or we'll go fetch a liver or heart team. The liver team opens, followed by the heart team harvesting. The heart team + cooler is then returned. Sometimes I'll fly a liver team in, several minutes later the heart team will arrive on a different A/C from a different city. two hours later they are gone, followed shorly thereafter by our PAX returning with the liver. (Often the liver team will harvest the kidneys and/or pancreas as well.
One of the realy neat things we get to do now are pancreas islet cell seperation flights. We'll take a pancreas down to Miami, where they have developed a technique using a centrifuge, among other things, to extract islet cells. About a day later, we head back down to MIA with a lab tech on board to pick up the cells. (The cells have to be "moved around" to remain viable.) Once back in Texas, these cells are injected into the liver of a type 1 diabetic who is nearly comatose due to insulin resistance. The person's liver then starts secreting insulin. The effects are temporary, but it does save their life and I understand the medical aspects of this are really cutting edge and may lead to more new advances.
For me, it's a real treat to get to use my skills as a pilot being involved with helping others save lives. And they pay me to fly Learjets on top of it! What a delightful scam.
Hope I've answered your question,
Take care,
LJDRVR
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Hi LJDRVR, interesting explanation; thanx a lot.
Since I'm participating in transplantation matters more or less from the time on when they started to perform them on a regularly basis here in Vienna (about 15years ago), I absolutely can agree with you that it gives you a damned good feeling to be a member of the chain that saves patients lifes or at least can help them to live a better life than before. I know this operations from the view of ground ambulance, dispatch, TX-Center and also frm the cockpits view and I only can say that I'm proud to be a part of the team. But thats enough of self-admiring...
I wish you many happy landings and all the power that you need to perform your duties !
callsignonly
Since I'm participating in transplantation matters more or less from the time on when they started to perform them on a regularly basis here in Vienna (about 15years ago), I absolutely can agree with you that it gives you a damned good feeling to be a member of the chain that saves patients lifes or at least can help them to live a better life than before. I know this operations from the view of ground ambulance, dispatch, TX-Center and also frm the cockpits view and I only can say that I'm proud to be a part of the team. But thats enough of self-admiring...
I wish you many happy landings and all the power that you need to perform your duties !
callsignonly
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Well i am doing full time air-ambulance flight for a company in the US. We regularly fly to Europe and over the rest of the world. i am assigned an older Lear which isn't allowed in Europe so I'll go internationally through the Us and canada, and latin/south America and everything in between.
I must say that even here in the US some control centers don't really honor the Lifguard callsign, and I must say that I do follow the rules and even use the "compassion" callsign if the situation warrants use of it. I am by no means a medical expert, so i have to rely on my doctor's/nurses judgement in calling the flight a time crital operation.
I have had a few times that I questioned ATC about the fact that we did use a lifeguard callsign and why we were vectored behind another aircraft. This has gotten me into trouble a few times when they told me to cll after the flight. I always had a very nice supervisor that resolved the situation with me.
On the other hand, I had some dealings with ATC over here in the US, where a lot of coordinating had to be done. It truly amazed me that they would go the extra mile, whereas my experience flying in Europe it wouldn't even have had one willing ear to consider.
I'm pretty sure that just because of ATc in the US lives get saved.
M
I must say that even here in the US some control centers don't really honor the Lifguard callsign, and I must say that I do follow the rules and even use the "compassion" callsign if the situation warrants use of it. I am by no means a medical expert, so i have to rely on my doctor's/nurses judgement in calling the flight a time crital operation.
I have had a few times that I questioned ATC about the fact that we did use a lifeguard callsign and why we were vectored behind another aircraft. This has gotten me into trouble a few times when they told me to cll after the flight. I always had a very nice supervisor that resolved the situation with me.
On the other hand, I had some dealings with ATC over here in the US, where a lot of coordinating had to be done. It truly amazed me that they would go the extra mile, whereas my experience flying in Europe it wouldn't even have had one willing ear to consider.
I'm pretty sure that just because of ATc in the US lives get saved.
M
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In the Uk, you need to have an approval for Medevac/ambulance flights. Once it has been granted the Flight Plan should show STS/HOSP STS/ATFM EXEMPTAPPROVED.
We use it with patients or organs as a Medevac is a Medevac.
Always found ATC most helpful wether it is with regard to routeing (DCT), RWY allocation and sequencing. Not to mention (thanks CFMU) the inexistance of slots
I must say these flights are the most rewarding I do, not only from the thrill it provides, the variety of destinations it takes you to but most important, the feeling to have done something that made a difference to someone's life.
A bit sad to think why we have organs on board but I always think the receiver's life will be saved (No doubt in my mind).
We use it with patients or organs as a Medevac is a Medevac.
Always found ATC most helpful wether it is with regard to routeing (DCT), RWY allocation and sequencing. Not to mention (thanks CFMU) the inexistance of slots
I must say these flights are the most rewarding I do, not only from the thrill it provides, the variety of destinations it takes you to but most important, the feeling to have done something that made a difference to someone's life.
A bit sad to think why we have organs on board but I always think the receiver's life will be saved (No doubt in my mind).
