Pilot scheme goes nationwide

Scotland’s Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) flying doctor service is to be extended through remote and rural Scotland, following a successful pilot in the west of the country, which saw emergency medicine consultants sent out on air missions with the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). Nicola Sturgeon, health secretary for Scotland, said: “Patients will often be some distance from the essential medical treatment they need. That’s where the EMRS comes in – flying experienced accident and emergency or intensive care consultants in remote or rural communities.” At present, 14 doctors work part-time with the service, but this is set to rise to 24, to be based at the SAS helipad in Glasgow. Dr Alisdair Corfield, a consultant in emergency medicine who works with EMRS, said the service has saved many lives: “Anecdotally, I can think of patents who would not have survived. One of the things the evaluation did was look at that on a population basis.” He continued: “It looked at patients we treated and compared them to how you have predicted they would have done. It found that around 24 people who you wouldn’t have expected to survive have survived.” Between June 2008 until the end of November 2009, EMRS doctors helped to retrieve 356 patients. The service will costs £2 million a year to operate.