New HEMS contract signed in Stockholm

After years of appeal processes (and a revoked tender), the Stockholm County Council’s new contract for the region’s HEMS structure has just been sealed. Stockholm County has publicly announced that Babcock Scandiavian Air Ambulance, former Scandinavian Medicopter AB, has received the contract to operate the air ambulance service in the Stockholm region for the next five years, with an option for a two-year extension. The new contract calls for larger Airbus H145 helicopters to replace the current EC135s.

The county’s air ambulance unit, stationed in Gustavsberg – moments east of Stockholm, is a vital resource for reaching people in remote parts of the region, including the huge archipelago. According to Stockholm County, the service will been strengthened on several points by the implementation of the new contract:

• Larger helicopters with a spacious cabin, which will improve patient safety and provide a better working environment.
• Increased ability to allocate an additional daytime helicopter all year round. This is not a requirement, but an option for the supplier should the need arise.
• A road ambulance with the same staffing as in the helicopter will be in operation when the helicopter cannot be used, for example, due to weather conditions.
• Improved safety requirements for the helicopter and its equipment.
• Improved requirements on pilot experience.


The new contract means that Babcock Scandinavian AirAmbulance will continue to operate in Stockholm, a location that has been maintained by the company since 1996 through acquisition of Osterman Helicopter’s HEMS unit in 2001 and the transition to Scandinavian MediCopter from Lufttransport Svenska in 2008.

Facts
• A total of 2 550 missions were performed in 2015
• Approximately 80 percent of the missions were priority calls, with acute life-threatening symptoms
• Most missions were made in the Stockholm archipelago and in Norrtälje.
• The most common causes are injury/accident, chest pain and breathing difficulties.

External link: "Stärkt akutsjukvård med större ambulanshelikopter" [SLL]