The Scottish Air Ambulance Service

The EC 135's aerodynamic fuselage-constructed from the latest composite technologies-contributes to its excellent speed and range.

Its unique Bearingless Main Rotor and innovative Low Noise Fenestron™ tail rotor system offers outstanding manoeuvrability as well as an exceptionally smooth and quiet ride to both patient and crew.

This new generation of light, twin engined, EMS helicopter was developed in close cooperation with doctors, rescue experts, designers and engineers and in compliance with the strictest guidelines. Already in service worldwide, the EC-135 demonstrates its high standards and flexibility in the rescue and EMS business.

The Bolkow BO 105D, manufactured by Messerschmit-Bolkow-Blohm GmbH of Munich, was first used for the Scottish Air Ambulance Service when G-BATC was based at Dundee Airport in 1989.

Operated by Bond Helicopters Ltd for the Scottish Ambulance Service, G-BATC was initially operated for a six-month trial with major sponsorship provided by British Telecom in the colours of FIRST AIR. The trial was extended for a further six-month period, which G-BATC was relocated to Inverness.

With the awarding of a contract to Bond Helicopters in 1993 to provide air ambulance cover for the Scottish Ambulance Service, Two Bolkow BO 105D’s were provided, one based at Inverness and the other at Prestwick.

The Air Support Unit of Strathclyde Police had operated a Bolkow BO105 since November 1989 but recently changed to the newer Eurocopter EC135 (pictured above).

Fitted with a stretcher facility, it is tasked occasionally for casualty evacuation cases in life-threatening situations.

The Scottish Air Ambulance Service . The day that Europe's largest Ambulance Service area took delivery of it's most unusual form of transport is one that will never be forgotten....

The Bolkow BO-105 helicopter, which still makes an impact wherever it goes, made a very lasting impression.

With it's speed and versatility, it has saved countless lives and it is unlikely to shake-off it's minor celebrity status.

Helimed~2 arrived in Inverness to be based at Raigmore Hospital for extended trials.

It came into the service from Bond Helicopters, Complete with pilot Phil Green and Engineer Terry Pukrin. Initial trials were held at Tayside, and Inverness had been chosen to test it's ability in more rugged terrain.

It's the almost frightening vastness of the area that makes Helimed~2 an almost indispensable part of the highland fleet. A few years later, due to Helimed~2's success, it was joined by Helimed~5 which was based at Prestwick Airport but is now operating out of Glasgow.

These Helicopters can operate over 300 miles from base without refueling, and a callout takes about 4 minutes to get airborne and responding to any situation where required. (Extract from RESPONSE Magazine)

Logan air was the launch customer for the Britten-Norman islander, the first aircraft BN-2 G-ATWU arriving in Glasgow in July 1967 for route proving. Many improved BN-2 islanders followed over the years and the early BN-2 aircraft were upgraded to this version.

Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2B aircraft operated by Logan air appeared in the colour scheme of the Scottish Ambulance Service in 1993.

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THE SCOTTISH AMBULANCE SERVICE PAYS TRIBUTE TO PARAMEDIC JOHN McCREANOR

The funeral of Scottish Ambulance Service paramedic John McCreanor (35), who died in the recent air ambulance crash, took place today at Martyrs Church in Paisley. It was attended by family and friends and many of John’s colleagues.

In tribute to John, Adrian Lucas, Chief Executive at the Scottish Ambulance Service said:
“John lost his life tragically whilst on a mission of mercy to help a patient and he will be missed by all of us in the Service. John joined the Scottish Ambulance Service in 1995 as an Ambulance Care Assistant, moving to the Air Wing as an Ambulance Technician in 2002 and fulfilling his ambition to become a paramedic in early 2003.

“He will be remembered and missed by all of his colleagues as a committed member of staff who was liked by all. He lost his life doing the job he loved, dedicating his skills to helping others and putting their needs ahead of his own.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with John’s family and our deepest sympathy also goes out to the family of Guy Henderson of Broxburn, the 40 year old Loganair pilot of the aircraft.

“The Service has received messages of condolence from many parts of the world which will be passed on to the families.”

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PILOT BLAMED FOR 999 PLANE CRASH

10 November 2006

Info from the Daily Record on above date.

THE pilot of an air ambulance which crashed on a mercy flight to pick up a young boy has been blamed for the tragedy.

A report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch says pilot fatigue, overwork and a lack of flying experience were behind the crash.

Captain Guy Henderson was flying to Campbeltown, Argyll, to take a 10-year-old boy with suspected appendicitis to Glasgow. But the plane flew too low and it crashed in the sea.

Dad-of-one Guy, 40, from Broxburn, West Lothian, and paramedic John McCreanor, 34, were both killed in the impact in March last year.

The body of John, a dad of three, from Paisley, was found shortly afterwards but Guy's body was not found until late December 2005.

The accident report said a second pilot "may have prevented the accident" and it called for authorities to make low-height warning devices mandatory.

Guy's fiancee Lorne Blyth, who has a son, Calum, welcomed the recommendations and said the tragedy might not have happened had they been implemented at the time.

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Board Approves Recommendations for New Air Ambulance Service

The Board of the Scottish Ambulance Service today agreed to award the contract for a new Air Ambulance Service for Scotland to Gama Aviation. The contract will commence in April 2006 delivering faster response times with dedicated new purpose built aircraft. The contract will run for seven years and is valued at approximately £40 million.

Gama Aviation will operate two EC 135 Eurocopter helicopters from Glasgow and Inverness and two brand new purpose built pressurised fixed wing King Air 200c aircraft from Aberdeen and Glasgow. These will be further supported by a medically fitted Super Puma Search and Rescue helicopter based in Shetland. The existing additional bad weather contingency support arrangements from the Ministry of Defence and Coastguard aircraft will continue.

Adrian Lucas, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service said:
“The Gama Aviation bid has exceeded the patient service standards set after a rigorous evaluation and tender process that included all key stakeholder groups within the NHS and Local Authorities and patient groups. This was followed by an extensive three month public consultation which resulted in over 100 responses.

“Our air ambulance service fulfils a vital role across all of Scotland and it is essential that we update the existing fleet in order to maintain high patient service standards and continue to exceed stringent clinical standards for our aircraft in a modern NHS. We recognise that the potential impact of this contract on other air passenger services in the northern isles, however our obligation is to provide a clinically safe air ambulance service for Scotland and if we are to continue to do this the status quo is not an option.

“Gama Aviation were chosen from a shortlist of three operators after a special Project Team were set up in March 2003 to develop improved patient service standards. That team included membership from NHS Orkney, Orkney Island Council, NHS Shetland, Shetland Island Council and NHS Highland, as well as GP and Consultant representatives.
“Tendering companies were asked to submit proposals to best meet the patient service standards without prescription of aircraft type or locations for deployment. None of the three shortlisted bids proposed the retention of the Air Desk in Dundee.

“The decision to dispatch aircraft will be undertaken in one of the three existing Scottish Ambulance Service EMDCs (Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre), and more staff will be introduced in EMDCs to fulfil this role. Staff who are currently employed on the Air Desk in Dundee will be offered a move to an EMDC or an alternative role will be found for them in the Service – there will be no redundancies. Currently there are 16 Air Desk staff in Dundee handling an average of 9 calls per day. Recent claims that control of aircraft will move to a third party are completely untrue. “

In the run up to the implementation of the new contract The Scottish Ambulance Service will address some valid concerns raised in the public consultation exercise with Gama Aviation. There were many concerns raised publicly about the new proposals which were misinformed:

Claims that maternity patients cannot be transferred by helicopter are unfounded. The EC 135 Eurocopter can transfer maternity patients.

Claims that there is not enough capacity for increased demand are unfounded as the contract has built in allowances for increased demand.

Claims that bad weather will limit operations ignore the fact that, the new aircraft are licensed to fly to the same limits of weather as existing aircraft and that the current back up arrangements with MOD and Coast Guard will continue.

Claims that the helicopter cannot fly in icing conditions ignore the fact that the EC 135 can fly different routes and lower altitudes to avoid icing. Also, the existing back up arrangements with MOD and Coast Guard will continue.

Claims that Islander aircraft based in Orkney and Shetland can respond quicker have focused on flight time rather than overall activation time. The Inverness based EC135 helicopter will be in the air in two minutes. Because the helicopter flies much faster, the overall response, from initial request to arrival at receiving hospital meets the time standards.

The Air Wing of the Scottish Ambulance Service flies an average of three thousand missions in Scotland every year, the majority of which are planned inter hospital transfers. It is the only publicly funded air ambulance service in the UK.

Gama Aviation Limited (Gama) is delighted to hear of the decision of the Board of the Scottish Ambulance Service to award the seven year contract for the provision of Air Ambulance Services for Scotland to the company. This award continues Gama’s long association with the Scottish Ambulance Service having been the sole provider of High Dependency Patient Air Transport for over ten years from our Aberdeen base.

The new service will provide the people of Scotland with the best possible Air Ambulance facilities increasing the standards of patient care using the latest in technology to ensure a fully integrated and cost-effective service. The service will be operated by two brand new Beech King Air 200C fixed wing turboprop aircraft based at Aberdeen and Glasgow airports. The interiors will be designed to Ambulance standards incorporating new Patient Loading systems and medical equipment which will enhance the services that are provided and also offering vast improvements on the current provision. In addition to the new fixed wing aircraft Gama will also be operating two dedicated ambulance Eurocopter EC135T2 Helicopters from Glasgow and Inverness. The aircraft will be subcontracted from Bond Air Services Ltd, another company with a long history with the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Gama’s Managing Director, Marwan Khalek, said “We are very pleased that the Scottish Ambulance Service has placed its seal of approval on our Integrated Air Ambulance Service proposal. We have, in addition to two other operators, been providing Air Ambulance aircraft to the Ambulance Service since 1993 and we have used our extensive knowledge of this work, together with the experience of our Aberdeen based Pilots and Ground Staff, to design the best and most integrated Ambulance Service for the people of Scotland.”

Gama’s Operations Director, Captain Stephen Wright, commented “The selection of the Beech 200C Super King Air and the Eurocopter EC135T2 provide the most suitable aircraft to service the Islands and mainland Scotland. The King Air 200C is able to use the majority of the airports that are currently used by the Service and the Eurocopter will provide a far improved service in terms of being airborne within 2 minutes, able to land closer to the patient’s homes and deliver them straight to the hospitals or directly to the King Air 200C in cases where the patient needs to travel a greater distance.”

Peter Bond, Executive Chairman of Bond Air Services Ltd: “We are delighted to be able to continue our long association with the Scottish Ambulance Service for the provision of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services for Scotland. We’ll be utilising the very latest helicopter technology which is equipped with the best medical facilities for the varied tasks that we have to respond to. As part of an integrated operation Bond will be using its significant experience in the Scottish environment to further increase the combined levels of service that we offer.”