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Long-Range Rescue Helicopter Missions in the Arctic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Rolf Haagensen ,
Karl-Åke Sjøborg ,
Anders Rossing ,
Henry Ingilæ ,
Lars Markengbakken  and
Peter-Andreas Steen
Rolf Haagensen*
Affiliation:
Norwegian Air Ambulance, Lakselv, Norway
Karl-Åke Sjøborg
Affiliation:
Norwegian Air Ambulance, Lakselv, Norway
Anders Rossing
Affiliation:
330 Squadron, Royal Norwegian Air Force Banak Air Station, Lakselv, Norway
Henry Ingilæ
Affiliation:
330 Squadron, Royal Norwegian Air Force Banak Air Station, Lakselv, Norway
Lars Markengbakken
Affiliation:
330 Squadron, Royal Norwegian Air Force Banak Air Station, Lakselv, Norway
Peter-Andreas Steen
Affiliation:
Division of Surgery, Ulleval University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
*
Norwegian Air Ambulance, N-9700 Lakselv, Norway E-mail: haarol@online.no
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Abstract

Background:

Search and rescue helicopters from the Royal Norwegian Air Force conduct ambulance and search and rescue missions in the Barents Sea. The team on-board includes an anesthesiologist and a paramedic. Operations in this area are challenging due to long distances, severe weather conditions, and arctic winter darkness.

Methods:

One-hundred, forty-seven ambulance and 29 search and rescue missions in the Barents Sea during 1994–1999 were studied retrospectively with special emphasis on operative conditions and medical results.

Results and Discussion:

Thirty-five percent of the missions were carried out in darkness. The median time from the alarm to first patient contact was 3.3 hours and the median duration of the missions was 7.3 hours. Forty-eight percent of the missions involved ships of foreign origin. Half the patients had acute illnesses, dominated by gastrointestinal and heart diseases. Most of the injuries resulted from industrial accidents with open and closed fractures, amputations, and soft tissue damage. Ninety percent of the patients were hospitalized; 7.5% probably would not have survived without early medical treatment and rapid transportation to a hospital.

Conclusion:

Using a heavy search and rescue helicopter in the Barents Sea was the right decision in terms of medical gain and operative risk.

Keywords

air ambulancesair force arcticemergency medicinefishinghelicoptersNorwaysearch and rescueteamtourism
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , June 2004 , pp. 158 - 163
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2004

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References

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