Page 50 - Signal Winter 2019

| EAS |
MEDEVAC: Inside the EAS
Comdt Declan Daly (Ret’d) provides an insiders viewpoint of what it is really like to fly the Irish Air Corps’ HEMS missions, the challenges, the rewards and its unique demands.
Welcome to EAS
“Up front in the cockpit, it’s Pauls’ first day as a fully minted EAS P2. In the back, Luke is on his first shadow shift – flying as an observer, learning from the more experienced crewmembers before going live on his own as an EAS crewman/EMT. Myself, Jamie (our crewman) and Pat (our Advanced Paramedic (AP)) have been doing this for a while.
The first task we receive from the NACC dispatcher is a good ‘first job’ for the newer guys. It’s a pick up of a patient with a suspected STEMI in Tobercurry, North of Knock Airport. The weather is a stable cloud base at 600 – 700 feet with 10+ vis underneath. There’s enough involved that the newer guys will have to do a bit of thinking about our route, but no real pressure on the rest of us so we can help the learning process along as much as possible. Everything goes fine on the outbound leg, the weather stays unusually ‘the same’ and even with the pick up site on rising ground, the cloud doesn’t touch the ground until about a mile North of our target.
It stays this way until we land on at Galway Hospital. I notice a flurry of activity in the back and Pat calls ‘Cab off’ – he wants
Commandant (Ret’d) Declan Daly
EAS in the news (RTE)
The recent decision to shut down the Air Corps EAS service for 16 days between now and February due to mounting staffing and training problems has led to renewed focus on the unique role and challenges of this service.
The Department of Defence has confirmed that four existing Irish Coast Guard helicopters will be asked to fill in during the winter period.
Since 2012, the Air Corps has used the Athlone-based AC112 air ambulance helicopter to ensure seriously ill people can be rushed to hospital in emergency situations.Last year alone, the service was involved in 159 responses to serious car crashes, 146 other medical emergencies and 15 urgent transports of children to hospital.
At last September’s conference, RACO’s General Secretary, Commandant Conor King, told delegates and Minister with responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe, that while the service has saved “countless lives” it is now “on the brink of collapse”.
“However, on foot of recent military advice, the
Air Corps will not be in a position to accept EAS taskings by the national ambulance service for four days per month for a period of four months starting in November 2019 and ending in February 2020,” a Department of Defence spokesperson said.
“This interruption is regrettable but necessary from a safety and governance perspective. The safety
of serving personnel, HSE staff and patients is the shared number one priority and our whole focus
is returning the EAS service to full capacity,” the spokesperson said.
It is understood the staffing and training issues relate specifically to the make-up of the air ambulance crew - which includes pilots and advanced paramedics - at any time.
While the Irish Coast Guard will be asked to fill in for the air ambulance during the period in question, those working in the service have noted this will potentially cause further issues as the Coast Guard has four helicopters for the entire country.
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