Svensk Luftambulans

Description

Svensk Luftambulans (SLA) is an emergency medical helicopter federation that is operating the air-ambulance services in Karlstad, Gothenburg and Mora. The company is shared by affiliated councils - currently Värmland, Dalarna, Uppsala and the Västra Götaland Region. It operates brand new Airbus H145s in Karstad and Mora, and a Sikorsky S-76C+ in Gothenburg.

History

In June 2010 Värmland’s County Council decided that a regional air-ambulance coverage was to be established, with the deadline set for mid 2014.

In November 2012 the council decided that the region was to have its own aircraft. The council took the formal decision to buy an own helicopter instead of leasing it in February 2013, and following a public tender the choice was set for the new Eurocopter EC 145 T2. However, the decision was appealed, and in May 2014 the Swedish Court of Appeal legally cancelled the decision, forcing the council to redo the tender.

A French EC 135 was leased in order to launch the HEMS operations and serve as a temporary stand-in aircraft while waiting for the new tender to be finalized.

The EC 135 arrived in mid June 2014, and the unit was granted its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) on 15 August 2014. The permission allowed daytime VFR operations in a first step.

The unit was put in HEMS alert on 22 August. The first mission for the helicopter was to transport a patient from Sunne to the hospital in Karlstad.

Värmland’s County became the first region in Sweden to operate its own EMS helicopter. The structure corresponded to the “Vård på Vingar” study that was published by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL) in September 2012.

Dalarna’s County was the second to follow by joining Värmland’s AOC in the shared local federation. Dalarna is expected to be operative in late 2015.

In late November 2014 Västra Götaland's County Council made public statements where it declared its intention to leave its current operator and join the new HEMS federation instead. A formal decision was expected in February 2015, with a formal start in May 2015.

On 15 December 2014 the county councils in Värmland and Dalarna announced that they had signed a purchase agreement with Airbus Helicopters for two new EC 145 T2 (H145) helicopters. The agreement included an option for eight more helicopters that could be delivered to the counties’ joint HEMS federation.

In late January 2015 Västra Götaland took the formal decision to join the organization. The operations were to be incorporated during the spring.

The organization was renamed Svensk Luftambulans when it was clear that Västra Götaland was to join the federation.

On 1 July 2015 Svensk Luftambulans took over the operations of the emergency medical helicopter in Gothenburg from Norrlandsflyg Ambulans AB. The full staff and the existing Sikorsky S-76C+ (SE-JUX) were transferred to Svensk Luftambulans. The helicopter Gothenburg was one of Sweden's most busy HEMS stations, and it had been administered through various operators since 2002.

On 30 September 2015 Uppsala's County Council decided to apply for membership in Svensk Luftambulans. Uppsala has had an intensive care helicopter since 1993, and its the current operator has a contract that is valid until late 2017.

On 28 November 2015 SLA's first H145 (EC 145 T2) arrived at the main base in Karlstad. The helicopter had been handed over to the operator at Airbus Helicopter's German Donauwörth plant a few days earlier. It was followed by a second H145 later in December and a third one in March the next year.

SLA returned the leased EC135 to its French owner in December 2015. The new H145 helicopters provided a improved take-off weight from 2800 kg to 3700 kg over the EC135.

The organisation reported a total of 1542 emergency calls during 2015, divided over approximately 600 flight hours.

SLA officially opened its Mora base on 11 April 2016. The brand new H145 helicopter is stationed at Mora Airport, close to the city and the hospital. The first emergency came in around midday, and it led the crew to the village of Rättvik. The Mora helicopter is manned with one pilot, one anaesthesiologist and one HEMS crew member, just like the set-up in Karlstad.

SLA inaugurated its company back-up H145 helicopter, SE-JXC, in April 2016, by placing it in alert in Gothenburg while the regular S-76 was in for its annual maintenance.