![]() The documents note that the aircraft used as the air ambulance “may also be required from time to time, on a similar emergency basis, to transport organ retrieval teams from one hospital to another”, and as such additional costs may be incurred. ![]() In an email sent from Capital Air to the HSE, the company said it was extending the service on a “goodwill basis” while it awaited the outcome of the tendering process. “It is further noteworthy that there has been no callout in this period so this experience is minimal.” This interim service was due to conclude at the end of February but was extended until the end of March. The documents note that Capital Air Ambulance was providing the interim service based at Dublin Airport and “as such has some experience of the operation”. Woodgate Aviation was the first company to be cut as it “did not meet the minimum requirements for providing the service”. The HSE and the National Ambulance Service (NAS) worked with Rose Aviation Ltd, which it described as “third-party experts”, to choose the preferred company. Since 6 November 2017, the Air Corps or the Irish Coast Guard have not been available to provide transfers for patients who require emergency medical or surgical treatment between the hours of 7pm and 7.30am (due to staff capacity constraints).Ĭapital Air Ambulance had been providing an interim nighttime service but lost out on winning the contract.ĭocuments released to TheJournal.ie under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act show that three companies applied to be awarded the contract:Ĭost of new service per month and per year The HSE did not explain why there was a delay, when asked. The contract was due to be awarded in January but the process was only concluded in recent weeks. In general, about five such cases happen per year. Most of the patients expected to use this service will be children who need to go to the UK for organ transplants. It was one of three companies to apply through a recent Health Service Executive (HSE) tendering process. THE TWO-YEAR CONTRACT to provide a nighttime air ambulance service between Ireland and the UK will cost in the region of €7 million.Īir Alliance, which has bases in the UK and Germany, has been awarded the contract. Shutterstock / VanderWolf Images / VanderWolf Images File photo of the interior of a rescue helicopter ![]()
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