• Anne Siri Johnsen, Stephen J M Sollid, Trond Vigerust, Morten Jystad, and Marius Rehn.
• Department of Research and Development, Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, Drøbak, Norway.
• Plos One. 2017 Jan 1; 12 (2): e0171436.

ObjectiveHelicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) aim to bring a highly specialised crew to the scene of major incidents for triage, treatment and transport. We aim to describe experiences made by HEMS in Norway in the management of major incidents.DesignDoctors, rescue paramedics and pilots working in Norwegian HEMS and Search and Rescue Helicopters (SAR) January 1st 2015 were invited to a cross-sectional study on experiences, preparedness and training in major incident management.ResultsWe identified a total of 329 Norwegian crewmembers of which 229 (70%) responded; doctors 101/150, (67%), rescue paramedics 64/78 (82%), pilots 64/101, (63%). HEMS and SAR crewmembers had experience from a median of 2 (interquartile range 0-6) major incidents. Road traffic incidents were the most frequent mechanism and blunt trauma the dominating injury. HEMS mainly contributed with triage, treatment and transport. Communication with other emergency services prior to arrival was described as bad, but good to excellent when cooperating on scene. The respondents called for more interdisciplinary exercises.ConclusionHEMS and SAR crewmembers have limited exposure to major incident management. Interdisciplinary training on frequent scenarios with focus on cooperation and communication is called for.

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