Abstract
BackgroundCOVID-19, the pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, is challenging healthcare systems worldwide. Little is known about problems faced by emergency medical services—particularly helicopter services—caring for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. We aimed to describe the issues faced by air ambulance services in Europe as they transport potential COVID-19 patients.MethodsNine different HEMS providers in seven different countries across Europe were invited to share their experiences and to report their data regarding the care, transport, and safety measures in suspected or confirmed COVID-19 missions. Six air ambulance providers in six countries agreed and reported their data regarding development of special procedures and safety instructions in preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic. Four providers agreed to provide mission related data. Three hundred eighty-five COVID-19-related missions were analysed, including 119 primary transport missions and 266 interfacility transport missions.ResultsAll providers had developed special procedures and safety instructions in preparation for COVID-19. Ground transport was the preferred mode of transport in primary missions, whereas air transport was preferred for interfacility transport. In some countries the transport of COVID-19 patients by regular air ambulance services was avoided. Patients in interfacility transport missions had a significantly higher median (range) NACA Score 4 (2-5) compared with 3 (1-7), needed significantly more medical interventions, were significantly younger (59.6 ± 16 vs 65 ± 21 years), and were significantly more often male (73% vs 60.5%).ConclusionsAll participating air ambulance providers were prepared for COVID-19. Safe care and transport of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients is achievable. Most patients on primary missions were transported by ground. These patients were less sick than interfacility transport patients, for whom air transport was the preferred method.
Highlights
COVID-19, the pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, is challenging healthcare systems worldwide
We aimed to describe how six different helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS)/air ambulance systems based in Europe cared for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19
During the study period, the participating air ambulances cared for 385 potential COVID-19 patients with a mean age of 61.3 ± 10.8 years and 266 of these were males (69%).The median National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)-Score of these 385 patients was 4 (1-7) and 233 patients (60,5%) had confirmed COVID-19
Summary
COVID-19, the pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, is challenging healthcare systems worldwide. COVID-19, the pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2), is challenging healthcare systems worldwide. The COVID-19 virus is highly contagious and can survive for up to 5 days on a variety of surfaces [3, 4] This is a major problem for healthcare providers who have close contact with COVID-19 patients for long periods. This includes the crews of ground emergency medical services (EMS) and helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS). These services have been extremely busy, with multiple consecutive transport missions
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