Medevac?
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Cat Driver
- Top Poster
- Posts: 18921
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 8:31 pm
" You brief for a given situation and you do things the same everytime..."
Well yes and no, we brief for certian situations and we do things that are most suited for the situation at that time.
Remember in our business we seldom fly in the same enviorements and have to make decisions based on the best avenues avaliable to us.
Well yes and no, we brief for certian situations and we do things that are most suited for the situation at that time.
Remember in our business we seldom fly in the same enviorements and have to make decisions based on the best avenues avaliable to us.
The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
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Cat Driver
- Top Poster
- Posts: 18921
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 8:31 pm
" You need to have good judgement at all times.. even if it doesn't involve SOP's "
Exactly, every flight can turn into something totally unexpected, a SOP slave could get into real trouble trying to figure out something their SOP's do not cover.
Remember the DC10 that lost all hydraulics to the flight controls and they managed to control crash it on an airport in Iowa and saved a lot of lives?
That sure was not covered by SOP's
AND BEFORE ANYONE JUMPS ALL OVER ME, Y E S I BELIEVE PROPER SOP'S ARE NECESSARY.
But even more important is good airmanship and the ability not only to have good hands and feet, but the ability to think and understand the whole enviorement of flying.
Exactly, every flight can turn into something totally unexpected, a SOP slave could get into real trouble trying to figure out something their SOP's do not cover.
Remember the DC10 that lost all hydraulics to the flight controls and they managed to control crash it on an airport in Iowa and saved a lot of lives?
That sure was not covered by SOP's
AND BEFORE ANYONE JUMPS ALL OVER ME, Y E S I BELIEVE PROPER SOP'S ARE NECESSARY.
But even more important is good airmanship and the ability not only to have good hands and feet, but the ability to think and understand the whole enviorement of flying.
The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
After over a half a century of flying no one ever died because of my decision not to fly.
Having good SOP's is important. Knowing them are more important. Knowing why you have them are most important. That goes for checklists as well.Cat Driver wrote: AND BEFORE ANYONE JUMPS ALL OVER ME, Y E S I BELIEVE PROPER SOP'S ARE NECESSARY.
But even more important is good airmanship and the ability not only to have good hands and feet, but the ability to think and understand the whole enviorement of flying.
As Cat alludes to boys and girls, make it your business to know why!!
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JustVisiting
- Rank 0
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 8:38 pm
- Location: Guelph
OK - back to the original topic at hand that has been beat to death many times over:
MEDEVAC:
A term used to request ATS priority handling for a medical evacuation flight based on a medical emergency in the transport of patients, organ donors, organs, or other urgently needed life-saving medical material. The term is to be used on flight plans and in radiotelephony communications if a pilot determines that a priority is required.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/publi ... EN/5-0.htm
<BEGIN>
1) Use your medics to determine your priority - NOT MEDCOM. MedCom while having the best intentions is the worst offender when it comes to abusing the priority system. Since MOH pays for the fuel, medical staff, etc. the conflict of interest is blatant - especially when your duty day gets tight. That said - always better safe than sorry when there is doubt (falls under that PIC decision making thing).
2) If you are not code 4 / priority 1 you are not medevac. Under specific conditions, aircraft operating Code 3 may be Medevac due to limitations of onboard equipment and or medic qualifications.
3) If you are empty and positioning back to base (no call pending) you are not medevac under ANY conditions.
4) If you are in YYZ trying to get out facing flow control / slot time / YYZ issues, YYZ has a policy for medical aircraft exempting them from the usual line ups and delays to ensure they can reposition back to base. All you need to do is inform the appropriate ATC agency should you meet an obstacle preventing your return to base.
5) If you are empty and positioning anywhere with a code 4/priority 1 call pending - you are medevac.
6) The use of the term medevac is the same as a land ambulance using lights and sirens - believe me, if they abuse it there are serious consequences.
7) Winnipeg ATC does not believe anyone who calls Medevac because it has been abused so much within the FIR that unless you convince them that your load is about to expire - you will receive anything BUT direct the button at your maximum forward speed. Instead, they use this thing called "Priority Medevac" which doesn't exist anymore. There is only one type of Medevac as outlined above. I have arrived in Winnipeg countless times with critically ill patients with aircraft filed "priority medevac" vectored in front of me only to see the pilots casually leave the aircraft after parking, their flight bags in hand and NO patient on board. Hmmmm.
<END>
Let the flames begin.
MEDEVAC:
A term used to request ATS priority handling for a medical evacuation flight based on a medical emergency in the transport of patients, organ donors, organs, or other urgently needed life-saving medical material. The term is to be used on flight plans and in radiotelephony communications if a pilot determines that a priority is required.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/publi ... EN/5-0.htm
<BEGIN>
1) Use your medics to determine your priority - NOT MEDCOM. MedCom while having the best intentions is the worst offender when it comes to abusing the priority system. Since MOH pays for the fuel, medical staff, etc. the conflict of interest is blatant - especially when your duty day gets tight. That said - always better safe than sorry when there is doubt (falls under that PIC decision making thing).
2) If you are not code 4 / priority 1 you are not medevac. Under specific conditions, aircraft operating Code 3 may be Medevac due to limitations of onboard equipment and or medic qualifications.
3) If you are empty and positioning back to base (no call pending) you are not medevac under ANY conditions.
4) If you are in YYZ trying to get out facing flow control / slot time / YYZ issues, YYZ has a policy for medical aircraft exempting them from the usual line ups and delays to ensure they can reposition back to base. All you need to do is inform the appropriate ATC agency should you meet an obstacle preventing your return to base.
5) If you are empty and positioning anywhere with a code 4/priority 1 call pending - you are medevac.
6) The use of the term medevac is the same as a land ambulance using lights and sirens - believe me, if they abuse it there are serious consequences.
7) Winnipeg ATC does not believe anyone who calls Medevac because it has been abused so much within the FIR that unless you convince them that your load is about to expire - you will receive anything BUT direct the button at your maximum forward speed. Instead, they use this thing called "Priority Medevac" which doesn't exist anymore. There is only one type of Medevac as outlined above. I have arrived in Winnipeg countless times with critically ill patients with aircraft filed "priority medevac" vectored in front of me only to see the pilots casually leave the aircraft after parking, their flight bags in hand and NO patient on board. Hmmmm.
<END>
Let the flames begin.
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BigWillyStyle
- Rank 2
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 4:06 pm
MEDEVAC
Having worked as both a pilot and a flight medic, all I can say about this is a big THANK YOU to the people who spell medevac correctly. It gets my giblets in a knot when some one spells it "medivac". Newspapers, governments, people who are paid enough to know better, etc. Get a brain! It's MEDical EVACuation, not MEDIcal VACuation.
End of rant. Thanks again.
BWS
End of rant. Thanks again.
BWS
