Sabah Air, SMC Team Up To Improve Medical Evacuation

KOTA KINABALU, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- State-owned Sabah Air and the Sabah Medical Centre (SMC) are combining their resources to improve medical evacuation by helicopter, especially from the remote areas.
The newly opened SMC eight-storey building in Luyang here is designed to handle medical evacuation by air. It has a rooftop helipad and an exclusive lift to the ground-floor emergency room.
SMC Project Director Chu Chee Kuen said here Saturday that the joint project would cater for patients especially from remote areas like Tawau, Tenom and Keningau.
He spoke to reporters after a mock evacuation by a Sabah Air Bell 206 helicopter to test the reliability of the landing deck and to provide the helicopter company with a taste of what it took to land a helicopter with a patient on the rooftop.
Sabah Air has been handling medical emergencies for many years and has six helicopters, comprising the four-seater Bell 206 and 15-seater Bell 212.
Sabah Air General Manager Tony Liew said all Sabah Air aircraft were equipped with stretchers, and experienced staff handled the transport of patients.
He also said that he was impressed with the capability of SMC staff in transporting a patient from the aircraft to the hospital in one minute and 15 seconds during the mock exercise.
Liew recalled that landing at the previous SMC building in Teluk Likas was more cumbersome because the landing area was the hospital's car park, which meant that cars needed to be moved before landing was possible and patients needed to be carried longer distances.
"With the rooftop helideck, the chopper and stretcher are just yards away. And, with an exclusive lift, the patient can be in the emergency room in a jiffy," he said.
He also said that the helipad was well equipped for such a task, with spotlights and a windsock to guide the pilot during landing and take-off.