• Katherine Gordon, Andrew Swain, Callum Thirkell, Mark Bailey, and Dave Greenberg.
• Department of Surgery and Anaesthesia, University of Otago, PO Box 7343, Wellington 6242, New Zealand. andrew.swain@otago.ac.nz.
• N. Z. Med. J. 2014 Sep 12;127(1402):30-42.

AimTo analyse the clinical and operational indications for activating the Wellington Life Flight helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) against draft Ministry of Health (MOH) criteria.MethodWellington HEMS records for 3 years were reviewed. Details of mission location, timings, medical procedures, patient demographics, and primary reasons for dispatch were analysed.Results471 missions were reviewed. The main reasons for helicopter dispatch were anticipated time savings (47%), geographical access (36%), provision of skills (7%), or a combination (10%). In 62% of total missions, a road ambulance and helicopter were both dispatched. The helicopter was dispatched after the road ambulance had arrived at the scene in 52% of these cases, with a median lag time of 11 minutes and 12 seconds, and median waiting on scene time of 27 minutes 28 seconds. The road ambulance arrived first in 77% of cases. The median arrival time by air was 26 minutes compared to 11 minutes 45 seconds by road. In contrast, the transfer to hospital by helicopter was quicker in 99% of cases, with a median flight time of 15 minutes compared to 49 minutes by road.ConclusionWellington HEMS offers advantage over the road ambulance when dispatched and utilised appropriately. The majority of missions satisfied the MOH activation criteria but time-saving issues became apparent. Changes to the Helicopter Dispatch Flowchart have been proposed as a result. Further studies are required to assess any improvement in HEMS response times as the service develops. This data provides a benchmark for audits of future operational and clinical performance.

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