The emergency air transport service will be provided starting Tuesday with four helicopters from the Air Force available 24 hours a day and two helicopters from Gulf Med, which will operate for 12 hours daily, the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) announced today.
In a statement sent to newsrooms, INEM explained that the four Portuguese Air Force (FAP) helicopters will be equipped with FAP medical teams and will be activated by the Urgent Patients Guidance Center (CODU).
The two Gulf Med helicopters, also starting operations on Tuesday, will have INEM medical teams and will operate for 12 hours. The remaining helicopters from the contract, which entails a total of four, will be introduced gradually until September 30.
INEM further clarified that the winning company, which was supposed to start with four helicopters as of July 1, will begin service gradually to meet all European aeronautical legislation requirements, primarily focused on ensuring the safety of the operations.
Until the Court of Auditors’ approval, the service provided by Gulf Med will be ensured through a direct contract, following a preliminary market consultation by INEM, to which the company responded with only two helicopters.
The Air Force will oversee the transitional period until the new operator, Gulf Med, fully takes over the operation, a responsibility that extends until 2030 following the international public tender.
While the bases for the helicopters have not been officially disclosed by INEM, a note directed to the Emergency Medical Helicopter Service (SHEM) staff, accessed by Lusa on Friday, mentioned that helicopters would be available at the Macedo de Cavaleiros and Loulé bases. A helicopter would be stationed in Évora by July 15, with another expected to be ready for Viseu in August.
On Friday, the Union of Civil Aviation Pilots warned that the speed of the emergency air transport service might be compromised if it is guaranteed by the Air Force, as their helicopter bases are located differently.
A union source explained to Lusa that instead of being in Viseu, as currently positioned, the Air Force helicopters would be based in Ovar, and similarly, helicopters in Évora, currently used for medical emergencies, would operate from Beja under the current Air Force arrangement.
“In terms of timing, the population is less protected because it’s entirely different having a helicopter in Viseu for an accident or transfer from Guarda or Castelo Branco than having it near the coast,” the source stated, adding, “There’s a difference between arriving at an incident after 30 minutes or after an hour or an hour and a half.”
The source, a professional pilot, previously questioned how the Air Force, which claimed last year it lacked capacity for this service, now says it does.
On Thursday, the Government announced that emergency medical air transport would be provided by Air Force aircraft and teams starting Tuesday until INEM’s public tender receives the Court of Auditors’ approval.
Neither FAP nor INEM responded to Lusa’s inquiries regarding the specifications of the helicopters scheduled to provide emergency air transport from July 1 or the locations of their bases.
SO (ZO/PC) // CMP
Lusa/fim
