Councillors insist Sligo Airport is the only location that makes sense for HEMS helicopter

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

A motion before the January meeting of Sligo County Council has called on the local authority to contact the HSE, Minister for Health Jennifer Carrol McNeill and the four local TDs to stress the importance of Sligo Airport becoming the base for the new HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) helicopter.

In his motion before the council, Cllr Barry Gallagher stated, “This is a vital service for the region since the S-92 has now left and replaced by the AW189 operated by Bristow. While the aircraft is approved for both search and rescue and HEMS it is not dual-purpose, at the same time.”

Addressing his motion Cllr Gallagher explained, “The cabin has to be reconfigured depending on the tasking so it cannot carry out S&R and HEMS simultaneously in its normal configuration. If it is set up for rescue work it cannot take medical emergencies.

"There is 20-45 minutes for the cabin to switch around between the two set-ups. I understand the HSE met with Sligo Airport before Christmas to discuss the possibility of Sligo becoming the base for the new HEMS helicopter. This is a vital service for the region and should be maintained at all costs.”

Cllr Gallagher added, "The AW189 is a very capable helicopter but the lack of a true dual role for an area that depends so heavily on rapid access for both S&R and medical emergency services and the change around of 20-45 minutes is too long when someone’s life depends on minutes alone. Sligo Airport is the only place that makes sense;

"Galway is too close to Athlone helicopter base and it does not improve overall coverage it just overlaps on what already exists. Ireland West Airport sits about 600ft above sea level meaning it is often covered in low cloud and fog. This makes it very unreliable for a helicopter that operates under visual flight rules. Sligo is low level and coastal so the weather is far better and far more reliable for emergency flying. Sligo Airport is the only location that makes operational sense for this service.”

Supporting the motion Cllr Edel McSharry said, “When a search and rescue task occurs, for example, maritime or search and rescue, the aircraft cannot also undertake time critical inter-hospital ambulance transfers. Critically, when the aircraft does switch to the HEMS role it takes about 40 minutes to reconfigurate to an ICU level ambulance transfer. In an emergency medicine that delay can be the difference between someone’s survival or serious harm.

"As a member of the board, I do know first hand that we have a proven aviation structure at Sligo Airport and a skilled regional healthcare workforce. The hospitals across the north west are managing increasingly complex and critically ill patients, so we do need this service. This region has no dedicated HEMS service to support adult and pediatric ICU transfers, neo-natal transfers, children’s emergency transfers or rapid access to tertiary care when minutes matter.

Sligo Councillors have stressed the importance of Sligo Airport becoming the base for the new Helicopter Emergency Medical Service

"It would support Sligo University Hospital, Letterkenny, Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar and Galway University Hospital. Basing the HEMS specific service in Sligo would significantly reduce transfer times, improve fuel efficiency and allow far faster and reliable access to specialist care across the entire north west. International evidence is clear, faster critical care transfer improves outcomes for stroke, trauma, sepsis, cardiac events and critically ill children. It's not about duplicating the search and rescue , it’s about recognising that air and sea rescue faces impossible choices between sea rescue and life saving medical transfers. A dedicated HEMS base at Sligo Airport would remove that conflict and strengthen the resilience across our hospitals and deliver safer, fairer care for the patients of the north west.”

Cllr Donal Gilroy also offered his support for the motion saying, “It is vital that comes to the north west."

He added, “There was an incident here in Sligo where there was two advanced paramedics on duty in Strandhill when there was an incident within five kilometres of the airport and the HEMS was assigned to it from Balldonnell. You can think of the time, it didn’t matter, the person was deceased.

"That just shows these things need to be in the right location and it should be there. It is vital that it is there and it is the busiest of the four helicopter bases in Ireland, covering the largest geographical area and it is vital that it has the support. Both services are equally important but we must insist that both are at some base and there is only place suitable for that in the north west region and that is Sligo Airport.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.