'Nation's First 24-Hour Operation' Gyeonggi-do Doctor Helicopter Flew 163 Times in First Half of This Year

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] 'Gyeonggi-do Doctor Helicopter,' the nation's first 24-hour emergency patient transport helicopter, has played a crucial role in saving lives of emergency patients in Gyeonggi-do by recording over 160 flights in the first half of this year.

According to Gyeonggi-do on the 18th, the Gyeonggi-do Doctor Helicopter recorded 163 flights in the first half of this year, about 3.8 times more than the 43 flights during the same period last year. This figure is much higher than the 26 flights in 2019 when operations first began, as well as 66 flights in 2020 and 86 flights in 2021.

The province currently operates the Doctor Helicopter (medium-sized AW-169) during the day and a fire helicopter (medium-sized AW-139) at night.

The medium-sized helicopter has a maximum takeoff weight of 4,600 kg, smaller than large helicopters, but with an engine warm-up time of 2 to 3 minutes, it can take off quickly, making it suitable for emergency patient transport.

To operate the only 24-hour Doctor Helicopter nationwide, the province introduced a day-night separated operation system.

During the day, the National Medical Center operates the Doctor Helicopter (AW-169), transporting not only severe trauma patients, the existing transport targets, but also three major severe emergency patients: myocardial infarction and stroke patients.

At night, the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters transports mainly trauma patients using fire helicopters.

The Doctor Helicopter is staffed 24 hours by medical personnel from Ajou University, consisting of at least one specialist and one nurse.

To ensure stable medical staff operation, the province has fully supported 1 billion KRW in medical personnel wages from the provincial budget since this year.

This year, to reduce medical staff boarding time and minimize on-site travel time, the province changed the Doctor Helicopter dispatch location from the existing Suwon 10th Fighter Wing to Ajou University Hospital, shortening dispatch time. However, the night fire helicopter departs from the Special Response Unit in Yongin City, picks up medical staff at Ajou University Hospital, and then moves to the site.

The operational range was also changed from nationwide to within 70 km (30 minutes one way) from Ajou University Hospital.

This change not only secures the golden time of within one hour for severe trauma patients but also reflects the actual operational results where patients are concentrated in the metropolitan area and other provinces such as Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do operate their own Doctor Helicopters.

Ryu Young-chul, Director of the Gyeonggi-do Health and Wellness Bureau, said, "Since survival depends on securing the golden time after an accident, the role of the Doctor Helicopter is becoming increasingly important," adding, "We will ensure that the 24-hour Doctor Helicopter operation proceeds without any disruption to save even a single life."

Currently, Doctor Helicopters operate in seven locations including Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Gyeongsangbuk, Chungnam, Jeonbuk, Incheon, and Jeonnam, with Gyeonggi-do being the only province operating 24 hours.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.