• A Rouse.
• Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Health Authority, Department of Public Health Medicine, Truro, England.
• Arch Emerg Med. 1992 Jun 1;9(2):113-21.

Objectiveto determine whether the use of a helicopter ambulance unit enabled an ambulance service to deliver acutely traumatized patients to hospital more quickly.Designretrospectively collected ambulance service and hospital records data analysed longitudinally.SettingsThe ambulance service and the major casualty department in Cornwall.Interventionthe provision of a helicopter ambulance unit to a county ambulance service.Subjectspatients with compound lower limb fractures carried as emergencies by an ambulance service. Principle outcome measure: ambulance 'mission times'.Resultsthe ambulance services' ability to deliver emergency patients to hospital more quickly when the helicopter unit was available was not demonstrated. In some instances availability of the helicopter unit probably delayed the timely delivery of emergency patients to the casualty department.Conclusionuntil a more effective helicopter deployment strategy is in operation it is unlikely that mission time savings will occur.

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