BACKGROUND: In the late 1960s, the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) was established in Germany because of an increasing number of severe injuries in traffic accidents. To get a doctor quickly on scene was the initial intention, rather than transporting the patient. Today, rescue helicopters cover the entire field of emergency medicine and are an important transportation device for polytrauma patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The importance of the HEMS for the treatment of severely injured patients was examined by an analysis of the databases of the leading air rescue organisations ADAC and DRF Luftrettung (2005-2011). RESULTS: Traumatological cases, albeit with large regional differences, make up 35 % of all uses of the helicopter emergency services. CONCLUSIONS: For the multiply injured patient in particular, in over 40 % of the cases there is a joint patient care involving both helicopter- and ambulance-based emergency services. The HEMS undertakes especially the rapid, if necessary, even transregional transport to specialised trauma centres. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
BACKGROUND: In the late 1960s, the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) was established in Germany because of an increasing number of severe injuries in traffic accidents. To get a doctor quickly on scene was the initial intention, rather than transporting the patient. Today, rescue helicopters cover the entire field of emergency medicine and are an important transportation device for polytraumapatients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The importance of the HEMS for the treatment of severely injured patients was examined by an analysis of the databases of the leading air rescue organisations ADAC and DRF Luftrettung (2005-2011). RESULTS: Traumatological cases, albeit with large regional differences, make up 35 % of all uses of the helicopter emergency services. CONCLUSIONS: For the multiply injured patient in particular, in over 40 % of the cases there is a joint patient care involving both helicopter- and ambulance-based emergency services. The HEMS undertakes especially the rapid, if necessary, even transregional transport to specialised trauma centres. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.