Motorists must make way for emergency airlifts
Motorists are urged to be patient when roads are closed to accommodate emergency helicopters.
A temporary road closure for a medical helicopter to land might be an inconvenience for motorists, but can be a lifesaving act for the patient.
Emergency services urge all motorists to be patient when a helicopter rescue is under way.
A medical helicopter is used for various reasons:
- The seriousness of a patient’s injuries
- The patient needs to get to an appropriate facility immediately
- Considering the terrain
- To have the necessary medical expertise close by
Gareth Staley, ER24’s Gauteng Regional Manager, explains that helicopters don’t always land on the road. “We prefer not to land on a road. It remains a safety risk. We prefer to land on a field close to the scene but sometimes the road is the only option. We would then get the traffic police, the fire department or the police to assist. If not, our crews assist by using road cones or blocking the road with ER24 vehicles.”
Read more here: Man knocked down and dragged by taxi in critical condition
A helicopter requires enough space to land. Jo Nieman, emergency service liaison at Flightshare, explained. “There are certain scoring mechanisms that paramedics use when on a scene. For example, when a patient is seriously injured and the hospital is 10 minutes away, peak time traffic on this route is likely to mean an hour’s journey instead. A helicopter is potentially the better option here.
“You also need to consider the terrain. Are we stuck in the middle of nowhere? A patient might suffer from a spinal injury in a place far from civilisation. The road might be too bumpy and driving with the ambulance could potentially worsen the patient’s injury.”
“A patient might also need the skills of a higher-qualified paramedic and the helicopter is used to transport such a paramedic to a scene,” said Nieman.
According to Staley, “Motorists ignore the road closures all the time.”
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