A look at when the Sky Doctor service can and cannot be used
Although it has been around for almost 15 years, the Sky Doctor project only made news headlines when Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew recently reiterated his promise to expand airlift services nationwide while observing an emergency airlift rehearsal in Phang Nga province on Monday.
The project involves an air ambulance helicopter staffed by an emergency medical team to fly to remote spots or islands to ensure timely treatment and potentially save lives.
Initiated in 2009 by the National Institute for Emergency Medicine (NIEM) in collaboration with the Public Health Ministry, the Sky Doctor project has recorded significant achievements in recent years. Since 2021, Sky Doctors have performed more than 400 operations, airlifted nearly 400 patients to safety and delivered three organs for transplant.
Last September, Cholnan announced plans to expand the programme by setting up Sky Doctor teams in every public health area within 100 days. This initiative aims to improve the emergency medical response, particularly during the busy tourist season.
But what medical emergencies are entitled to use the service? To answer this question, Nation Group’s news channel “Post Today” reached out to Asst. Prof Dr Narain Chotirosniramit, director of Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, which joined the Sky Doctor project back in 2010.
Narain said the hospital’s Sky Doctor team is responsible for medical missions in Health Area 1, which covers the upper part of the Northern region, and works with the emergency teams of Nakornping Hospital in Chiang Mai and Srisangwan Hospital in Mae Hong Son province.
“Last year, the Health Area 1 teams transported 162 patients, with all the expenses covered by NIEM,” he said. “Most of the patients transported by Sky Doctors were suffering from myocardial ischemia (decreased blood flow through one or more coronary artery), cardiac arrests, strokes, or severe head trauma.”
Narain said that according to Health Area 1’s regulations for emergency patient transport by air, Sky Doctor services can be used in three events.
1. The patient is in critical condition and needs immediate treatment to save his/her life or viable vital organs when ordinary transport methods may not accommodate such treatment. For example, if the patient requires cardiac catheterisation, intra-aortic balloon pump placement, thrombolytic treatment for intravascular clots, or other urgent surgical interventions.
2. The medical and emergency teams agree that air transport will be more beneficial to the patient’s treatment than any other means of transport.
3. Emergency transport during natural disasters, in which air transport can prevent the loss of life or reduce severity of medical emergencies.
However, medical staff may decide against using the Sky Doctor services in 7 situations.
1. The patient is in a terminal condition and air transport will not improve their condition.
2. The patient’s heart has stopped and no vital signs can be recovered.
3. The patient’s condition is at high risk of worsening during the transport, such as increased instability of vital signs, on-going deterioration, and uncontrolled seizure.
4. Woman in labour likely to give birth during the transport.
5. Psychiatric patients who do not cooperate with the treatment, are unable to be restrained or sedated, and pose a potential danger to medical staff.
6. Patients who are, or are suspected of having been exposed to dangerous toxins, chemicals or substances that could pose a danger to others.
7. Patients with contagious severe respiratory diseases, for which no suitable preventive measures are available.
Narain added that these rules serves as guidelines for the Sky Doctor teams, who will also use their own judgement on a case-by-case basis, as well as consider air safety standards to decide whether to airlift patients.
