Rescue helicopter

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Rescue helicopter

Rescue helicopter Christoph 32
Rescue helicopter Christoph 32

Vehicle data

Abbreviation: RTH
Crew: Emergency doctor, HEMS technical crew member, pilot (s), possibly on-board attendant / mountain rescuer
Commitment: acute emergencies with an emergency doctor's indication, secondary transfers

Rescue helicopters ( RTH , rescue transport helicopters ) are specially equipped helicopters that are used in the air rescue service as emergency doctor deliverers within the framework of the rendezvous system ("primary use") and as a means of transferring hospital patients ("secondary use"). In Austria they are mainly referred to as emergency medical helicopters ( NAH ).

Emergency doctor use helicopters ( NEH ), on the other hand, are pure emergency doctor deliverers, correspond to the emergency doctor's vehicle used on the ground and cannot transport patients. In contrast to the rescue helicopters, they are rarely held.

There are also large-capacity rescue helicopters that can transport several patients at the same time.

equipment

The minimum features are designed in terms of medical equipment , medicines and materials to the ambulance . In Europe it is regulated by EN 13718. This means that on-site care and during transport can be provided at an emergency medical level.

The equipment can also be expanded for special requirements. For example, by the sea or in the mountains (for use in mountain accidents), a side winch is often attached to the rescue helicopter , with which the patient can be lifted and loaded on a stretcher in flight.

If there is no lateral winch, a fixed mountain rope up to 90 m long can be used. To do this, this recovery rope must be attached to the helicopter's load hook at an intermediate loading point near the place of use. The height rescuer is attached to the other end of the rope and is flown to the scene of action hanging under the helicopter. After the height rescuer has picked up the victim, the helicopter flies back to the intermediate landing area and sets them down on the ground. Rescue with a fixed mountain rope requires very good communication and cooperation between the pilot and the high-altitude rescuer and must therefore be trained over and over again.

Whether a cable winch or a fixed mountain rope, there are several variants when it comes to the recovery itself:

In particular, rescue equipment with a large surface, such as a rescue bag or drag stretcher, tend to start rotating when picked up in the downdraft of the main rotor. The anti-rotation cord helps as an antidote . As a rule, a helper is roped down and secured with an air rescue harness (a type of climbing harness with chest and hip belt).

  • Rear of an RTH with stretcher and alpine equipment

  • Inside view of an RTH

  • Inside view of an RTH

  • Emergency doctor's place

Range

The radius of action is typically 50 to 70 km.

crew

Abseiling on the rescue helicopter in the Alps, as there is no possibility of landing.

Germany

The crew of a German RTH usually consists of the pilot , an emergency doctor and a HEMS Technical Crew Member , a specially trained paramedic or paramedic . With certain RTH types, the flight crew also includes an on- board attendant . In some cases, interns are also taken along.

The operator usually provides the pilot and, if necessary, the on-board attendant. The HEMS Technical Crew Member is often an employee of the aid organization with which the operator has entered into a partnership, rarely employed by a hospital or the operator himself (exception, for example, the helicopters of the Bundeswehr ). The emergency doctor is a doctor from a nearby hospital or the hospital where the RTH is stationed. In many cases, he does normal ward duty when he is not on duty.

A large part of the German territory is covered by the existing helicopters.

Austria

In Austria, rescue helicopters are manned by an emergency doctor, a pilot and an emergency paramedic trained as a HEMS Technical Crew Member . Some RTHs, which are mainly used in alpine terrain, have a specially trained mountain rescuer on board as the fourth crew member . Mainly for financial reasons, however, the number of crews on these helicopters is increasingly being reduced to three, in which case the paramedics have to complete the mountain rescue training as well as a flight rescue training.

Switzerland

Most of the air rescue in Switzerland is organized by Rega . The exception is the canton of Valais, where Air Zermatt and Air-Glaciers are responsible for rescues from the air. The crew basically consists of a pilot, an emergency doctor and the paramedic. In areas that are difficult to access, the crew is supported by a specialist helicopter from Swiss Alpine Rescue .

Operators and bases

literature

  • J. Hinkelbein, E. Glaser: Aviation Medicine , UniMed, Bremen 2007, ISBN 978-3-89599-954-3 .
  • Karl Neno, Gunter Carloff: Use for the rescue helicopter , Kisterkall Verlag, Cologne 2001, ISBN 978-3-935604-00-0 .
  • ADAC station atlas "Christoph - please come!" , Edition 2011/12, published by ADAC-Luftrettung GmbH, Verlag / Realization W. Wolfsfellner MedizinVerlag, Munich 2011, 176 pp., ISBN 978-3-933266-71-2 , with Foreword / accompanying text by the editors Friedrich Rehkopf, Susanne Matzke-Ahl, on VLB-buchhandel.de [6]

Web links

Wiktionary: Rescue helicopter  - explanations of meanings, origin of words, synonyms, translations
Commons : Rescue Helicopter  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cimolino, Dickmann: The special rights and rights of way of emergency medical vehicles in road traffic . In: NZV 2008, 118, 118.
  2. ↑ Standard DIN EN13718
  3. ^ Christoph G. Wölfl: Accident rescue: deployment tactics, technology and rescue equipment , Schattauer Verlag , 2010, ISBN 9783794526840 , p. 166 [1]
  4. ^ Authors Stefan Schröder, Dieter Schneider-Bichel: Water rescue and emergency medicine: medical and technical challenges to water rescue , Verlag ecomed-Storck , 2010, ISBN 9783609774831 , p. 45 [2]
  5. ↑ Matthias Ruppert, Jochen Hinkelbein (Ed.): Emergency Medicine in Extreme Situations , Medizinisch Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft , 2018, ISBN 9783954663446 pp. 171–172 [3]
  6. ↑ Helicopter Rescue Techniques , National Park Service October 2013, pp. 68–69 [4]
  7. ↑ Pit Schubert : Safety and Risk in Rock and Ice: Volume 2 , Bergverlag Rother , 2018, ISBN 9783763360185 , p. 273 [5]
  8. ↑ Air rescue bases. (860 kB) (No longer available online.) ADAC-Luftrettung gGmbH, August 2015, archived from the original on April 6, 2016 ; Retrieved April 19, 2017 .