[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] Starting next month, a doctor helicopter, known as a 'flying emergency room,' will be introduced in Jeju Island.
On the morning of the 29th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held a launch ceremony for the eighth dedicated emergency medical helicopter (doctor helicopter) in Korea at the Jeju Citizen Welfare Town plaza and announced that the doctor helicopter will begin operations in Jeju from December 1. Equipped with advanced medical equipment and staffed by professional medical personnel, the doctor helicopter functions as a 'flying emergency room' capable of emergency treatment and transport.
In Korea, since the first deployment in Incheon and Jeollanam-do in 2011, seven helicopters have been stationed at regional emergency medical centers: Gangwon and Gyeongbuk in 2013, Chungnam and Jeonbuk in 2016, and Gyeonggi in 2019. As of the end of October, 12,093 patients have been transported. Among the patients transported by the doctor helicopter, over 60% were classified as the three major severe emergency patients (severe trauma, cerebrovascular disease, cardiovascular disease), while the rest were emergency patients with conditions such as respiratory distress, decreased consciousness, shock, and burns.
The eighth doctor helicopter will be stationed at Jeju Halla Hospital, the regional emergency medical center for the Jeju area. Operating hours will be from sunrise to sunset. When a patient requiring transport occurs and a dispatch request is made from the 119 emergency call center or other sources, the medical staff and pilot will consult to decide whether to dispatch. Thirty-six designated locations within the province, selected through expert field inspections, have been designated as boarding points for patients to get on the doctor helicopter.
Jeju Island, home to approximately 690,000 residents and attracting over 10 million tourists annually, experiences many mountain and marine accidents. With Hallasan Mountain located in the center of Jeju Island, it has been challenging to transport emergency patients by land to emergency medical institutions in a timely manner. The Ministry of Health and Welfare expects that the launch of the Jeju doctor helicopter will greatly contribute to protecting the lives and safety of severe emergency patients in Jeju, especially residents in island and mountainous areas.
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