Online Reporter
THE country’s first public air ambulance took off seven months ago. The goals were to expedite the transportation of emergency cases to health facilities and to be able to reach areas that would ordinarily be impossible via the traditional road ambulance.
As we wrote yesterday, the Helidrive Zimbabwe air ambulance service has done a great deal to bridge the health access gap across the country in a manner unimaginable before the Zimbabwe-Russia partnership was consummated.
A total of 267 patients, among them 76 children under the age of 18, have been airlifted to health facilities since then. The service offers free transfers for critically ill patients to major health centres across the country.
In Bulawayo, Helidrive Zimbabwe’s medical teams have airlifted 30 patients, comprising 20 adults and 10 children, six of whom were under the age of one.
“In January alone, we recorded 14 cases in Bulawayo comprising five males and nine females while in February, we had 16 cases. For Harare, we have had 75 cases this year, comprising 60 adults and 15 children, eight of whom were under the age of one,” Helidrive Zimbabwe’s chief medical doctor, Dr Evgenii Kibakin told us.
This partnership is yet another tangible example of the age-old, strong relationship between our country and Russia.
It is assisting in moving patients to health facilities, which is very important as time is always important in times of acute illness. A patient who gets medical attention earlier stands a good chance of surviving than one who takes a day or two to get it.
We are confident that most of the 267 patients who got the Helidrive Zimbabwe service got the prompt service they needed at hospitals and are doing well.
Apart from offering speed, we find it important that this service is also being provided free of charge.
Equally important is the fact that the initiative has created 300 local jobs — 40 pilots, 50 doctors, 100 nurses, 100 dispatchers and 10 engineers.
Considering the good work that Helidrive Zimbabwe is doing for the people, we suggest that our Government and Russia expand the service by procuring more air ambulances.
This will ensure that more patients anywhere across the country can enjoy this free, expeditious service. Furthermore, this will mean more jobs for our people.
However, as Helidrive Zimbabwe soars, let us ensure that the traditional road ambulance service is reinvigorated as well.
