The Local Health Unit North East (ULSNE) reported today that the Bragança and Mirandela hospital heliports are in the process of obtaining permission to operate larger aircraft.
The goal is to guarantee “as soon as possible” the operation of the INEM helicopter, which has been operating in the district since the beginning of the year.
The certification is being sought from the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), “thus following the normal procedures associated with the assessment of these infrastructures, taking into account the standards and practices recommended in this field,” said a ULSNE statement sent in response to Luz’s request. who questioned the organization responsible for managing health facilities in the region regarding the current restrictions on air transport for medical emergencies in the Bragança district.
Since January 3, the larger and more autonomous AW139 ambulance helicopter, which was previously stationed in Évora and replaced the previous A109S in Trás os Montes.
As explained to Luse Tiago Faria Lopez, president of the Union of Civil Aviation Pilots (SPAC), the AW139 “has neither the size nor the weight” to land on the helipads to which it is provided and which do not have the necessary certification.
In the same statement, ULSNE considers this an “important investment” designed to guarantee “in the shortest possible time, the necessary conditions for the operation of the new emergency air transport in the airport infrastructure adjacent to the Emergency Medical Service – Surgery in the Bragança area.”
“ULS do Nordeste continues to work in accordance with safety standards (…) to guarantee the best conditions for the provision of medical care to the population, developing in this sense measures that are considered necessary also from the point of view of the operating conditions of emergency hospital resources in terms of distribution of health resources and services,” the statement also said.
At Mirandela, the previous smaller helicopter could only land during the day due to the lack of a safety certificate for landing at night.
Speaking to Lusa, Mirandela council officials said the county hospital’s helipad is “a fundamental tool in the speed of delivery of health care to the people of the county and region” and explained that it made the Reginorde synthetic field available for landing.
In collaboration with local volunteer firefighters, “they will ensure that this alternative landing site is available 24 hours a day for INEM’s helicopter,” the municipality also said in a written note.
“This solution proposed by the municipality increases the arrival/departure time of the Mirandela Hospital by approximately 3 minutes (1.6 km),” the municipality said.
Another alternative is the municipal airfield, which “increases airborne emergency response time by approximately 6 minutes (4.5 km).”
According to SPAC, in Bragança the landing took place at the municipal airfield, 15 minutes by road plus time to transport the patient between the hospital, ambulance and plane, adding a total of 20 minutes to the care provided.
According to SPAC, the AW139 helicopter is also unable to land at the Massarelos helipad in Porto.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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