The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Chetak to help patients in distress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 26, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Chetak to help patients in distress

Ravi Sharma

The availability of the helicopter will go a long way in helping speedy transportation of patients during a medical emergency

Bangalore: A modified Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactured Chetak helicopter will soon be part of the Bangalore-based NGO, Comprehensive Trauma Consortium's (CTC's) efforts in providing pre-hospital care facilities and promoting the golden hour concept (the first 60 minutes after an accident).

Disclosing this to The Hindu on the sidelines of a national seminar on `Helicopter Emergency Medical Service and Air Ambulance', N.K. Venkataramana, neurosurgeon and project coordinator for CTC, said that a Chetak helicopter — which had previously been with the Coast Guard — had been cleared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for an air ambulance role. The light utility helicopter has had one of its seats reversed so as to allow a paramedic to sit facing the patient and has also been suitably modified to accommodate equipment such as ventilators, spinal boards, defibrillators and other rescue equipment required to deal with medical emergencies. According to Dr. Venkataramana a roster of pilots who could be employed and called upon in an emergency needed to be worked out.

Given the importance of an air ambulance in pre-hospital care especially in and around a city like Bangalore where surface transportation is a time consuming nightmare, the availability of the Chetak (it will be parked at HAL Airport) will go a long way in satisfying CTC's requirement for a professional, speedy, available and affordable transportation of patients in a medical emergency.

Currently, CTC has been making do with helicopters from private air operator Deccan Aviation and has even undertaken 14 air rescues. But the non-availability of these flying machines, given the private operators own requirements, and the exorbitant cost (Rs. 65,000 per hour of flying even at subsidised rates) prompted CTC to approach HAL.

Dr. Venkataramana hopes that once the Chetak is regularly on air ambulance call, given the increased operations and economies of scale, the cost of flying a trauma patient will come down to Rs. 25,000 per hour of flying.

Once the Chetak is in service, CTC will become the coordinating agency with doctors/paramedics at the consortium's control room (which has a Global Positioning System and a wireless communication system) coordinating with the base hospital on airlifting a patient.

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