Air ambulance nurses as expert supplement to local emergency services

Abstract

Introduction: Flight nurses in the Norwegian National Air Ambulance Service are specialist nurse anesthetists or intensive care nursing specialists. For air ambulance bases far from hospitals, these nurses represent otherwise unavailable competencies. This study reports a 6-year experience with flight nurse participation in local emergencies beyond the transportation phase. <br>Methods: The fixed-wing air ambulance base in Alta, Northern Norway (20,000 inhabitants), with two aircraft and two on-call teams, is 150 km by road from the nearest hospital. We did a prospective registration of all emergency non-flight missions near the air ambulance base through January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2010. <br>Results: The 217 completed missions corresponded to three missions per month, half during daytime. Twentythree percent of patients were under age 18, injury rate was high (36%), and 63% had potentially or manifest life-threatening conditions while 11% died during treatment. One third of all missions (67 of 217) resulted in an air ambulance flight to the hospital. <br>Conclusion: Mission frequency did not significantly reduce flight availability, and precision in case selection for this special service was good. The use of flight nurses in the local community promotes equal access to advanced medical services for populations far from hospitals.