Air Ambulance

The air ambulance has worked with patient transport for almost 30 years.

Svensk Flygambulans was founded in 1976. On 1 May 2004, the company was bought by NLA Global Medicin Support AS, part of the Norsk Luftambulanse Group.

The idea behind the ambulance planes is to offer patients and county councils quick and safe transport over long distances, instead of having to travel by car. Most of the transport is pre-booked (90%) and the rest is emergency transport.

It may be an organ transport or flying in a transplant team to a hospital, but usually it is transport for people who have been injured in another location and need to return to their own county. Sometimes patients need to be examined or receive specialist treatment at a different hospital in the country.

The winter sports holiday in the Swedish mountains is the height of the season for the ambulance planes. But ambulance transport is also needed in the summer when many are on holiday, sometimes even from abroad, in co-operation with SOS International.

The air ambulance has three Beech Super King Air 200 at its disposal. It owns two and leases one. The planes are robust and can cope with most weather situations. They are equipped with turbo-prop engines and pressurised cabins. Their speed is 500 km/hour and the normal flying altitude is approximately 8000 metres.

Each plane has two pilots and one specially trained anaesthetic nurse. The planes are equipped with complete intensive-care equipment. Doctors also accompany the planes when necessary. Each plane has space for two stretchers and two sitting patients.

After the Tsunami catastrophe in South-East Asia, SOS Flyambulans had a few hectic days. Approx 70 patients were transported for care in their home counties.

Help from above as its known. We’re glad we’ve got the air ambulance, but we hope we don’t have to use it!

More info: www.svenskflygambulans.se