HEMS Technical Crew Member

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Christophorus 9 in action

A HEMS Technical Crew Member ( HEMS TC = Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Technical Crew Member ) is a member of the rescue service personnel who work in air rescue. The translation is roughly equivalent to a rescue helicopter crew member. Until 2014 the name was HEMS Crew Member and was abbreviated to HCM. Today's official abbreviation is "HEMS TC", but "TC-HEMS" is also used here and there.

In Germany, paramedics and in the future, as in Austria, emergency paramedics (not paramedics ), legally based on JAR-OPS 3, complete additional training to become HEMS Technical Crew Member (also: HEMS TC for short). The HEMS Technical Crew Memberforms the actual “flight crew” together with the pilots, the emergency doctor in this context is only a “medical passenger”, as he has no duties or training in the field of helicopter flight operations. Together, the flight crew and the medical passenger form the crew of a rescue helicopter. The flight crew can also consist of two pilots or a pilot and an on-board attendant.

tasks

The HEMS Technical Crew Member supports the pilot before take-off, during the flight and after landing, but without having the qualification of a pilot himself. His main tasks are in the areas of tactical radio communication, navigation, support in emergency procedures, security and danger prevention. The main task of the HEMS Technical Crew Member on site is to assist the emergency doctor and support him in patient care. During the subsequent flight to a suitable clinic, he devotes himself to cockpit work and assists the pilot. Only in special cases is it necessary to support the emergency doctor during the flight to the hospital.

Basically, the work of the HEMS Technical Crew Member can be divided into three main areas of responsibility, which are very different:

  • HEMS Technical Crew Member : During the operation of the helicopter
  • Emergency paramedic : After landing on site and during patient care or when handing over to the clinic
  • Rescue specialist : In the event of a need for rescue using a rope or rescue winch from an alpine or sea emergency.

HEMS Technical Crew Member as cockpit assistant

The tasks of the HEMS Technical Crew Member as a cockpit assistant range from reporting readiness for action as well as logging out via orientation and target finding, operation of on-board navigation systems (GPS), airspace and obstacle monitoring during the flight, radio communication with the control centers of rescue services, police, mountain - and piste rescue etc. up to reading instrument displays and warnings (if necessary). As a cockpit assistant, the HEMS Technical Crew Member also takes on the tasks of using the checklists for normal and emergency procedures to support the pilot (if necessary), recognizing and assessing landing sites, speaking in the landing approach, checking and assessing the touchdown area immediately after the Landing, securing the landing site after landing and before take-off, refueling the helicopter with the engines switched off and running, as well as checking and taking responsibility for the required map material and the cooperation between the crew members (crew coordination concept).

HEMS Technical Crew Member as an emergency paramedic / paramedic

As an emergency paramedic or paramedic, the HEMS Technical Crew Member is responsible for reporting readiness for action and de-registration, assisting the emergency doctor in treating patients, caring for patients without an emergency doctor, using the medical facilities on board, checking and maintaining the equipment as well as the medication including administration, ordering, procurement, collection and storage and all medical-technical devices, their administration and initiation of repairs on official channels as well as the documentation of patient data in the accounting system, the documentation of work performance and compliance with hygiene guidelines.

HEMS Technical Crew Member as a rescue specialist

As a rescue specialist, the HEMS Technical Crew Member is responsible for the standard retrieval of people, the rescue of people with variable rope (longline recovery), the recovery of people who have fallen into ropes, the evacuations of people from chairlifts and cable car systems as well as the rescue of people from crevasses, industrial plants and inland waters , from distress at sea or from ships or boats and from alpine emergencies using makeshift mountain rescue techniques. As a rescue specialist, he is also responsible for searching for people buried under avalanches using bearings from a helicopter.

education

The training in accordance with JAR-OPS 3 or the individual guidelines of the operator basically includes the HEMS flight operations, the medical characteristics of air rescue , air law , the crew coordination concept (CCC), the crew resource management (CRM), navigation and map customer , Meteorology , helicopter technology , flight physiology and cockpit and cabin . Cockpit assistance, the handling of checklists, radio and communication technology, the preparation for the rescue operation as well as the loading of the helicopter and securing the load, the refueling of the helicopter with stationary and running engines and the hangaring as well as the helicopter transport on the ground are also part of the training. Other focal points are rescue and safety equipment, hazard detection and defense, the nature of the landing site, work with external loads and the rescue hoist, helicopter-specific rescue techniques (rope rescue), and instruction during flight operations.

The radiotelephone certificate for aviation radio (German / possibly English) is not mandatory.

Germany

The briefing plan has been designed with minimum time requirements so that the theoretical part of the briefing as a HEMS Technical Crew Member can be completed within one week (with 8 teaching units of 45 minutes each per day). The practical part (instruction on the rescue helicopter / safety device) can be completed in this form in 2.5 days.

The training times listed here relate purely to the additional qualifications that the HEMS course provides. The prerequisite is training as an emergency paramedic or paramedic .

Switzerland

In Switzerland, the tasks of a HEMS Technical Crew Member, insofar as difficult rescue operations are concerned, are carried out by members of the Swiss Alpine Rescue, a partner organization of Rega and the Swiss Alpine Club . Many of the ARS rescuers are experienced hobby mountaineers and are deployed in mountain rescue, while some mountain guides and professional fire brigade members are trained to become "helicopter rescue specialists". The latter support the helicopter crew in assessing alpine hazards as well as in rescue at height and depth.

Austria

As a prerequisite for access to the Christophorus air rescue, a completed professional training as an emergency paramedic and extensive alpine or mountain rescue training and experience are necessary. A three-day assessment must be completed to determine suitability for the HEMS TC.

The training according to JAR-OPS 3 currently comprises three theory courses, one practical individual training, two courses for helicopter-specific rescue techniques and an operational internship. The course, which lasts around 450 hours, concludes with a written and a practical exam.

In order to obtain the qualification, so-called proficiency checks must be completed at regular intervals. Every year, a HEMS Technical Crew Member Profcheck, a flight exercise (christening flights and getting on and off with assistance) and safety training must be carried out. Recertification in accordance with the Paramedic Act is prescribed every two years, and the Alpin Profcheck and tactical intensive training every three years.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christop5.info accessed on November 30, 2018.
  2. ↑ Traumateam.de accessed on November 30, 2018.
  3. ↑ http://www.alpinerettung.ch/Rettungsspezialist-Helikopter-RSH.247.0.html , accessed on April 23, 2014

Web links