Emergencies don’t stop when the fog is low. This is the challenge that presented itself several times this Thursday, says Rega, which reports in a press release that it had a lot to do to transport three premature newborns to the hospitals of Lausanne and Basel.
The different crews thus transported a baby from Sion to Lausanne, and from Saint-Imier (BE) to the Vaud capital “despite thick cloud cover,” explains the company. On the return flight, the center mobilized the crew to once again come to the aid of a newborn baby. The crew then directly ensured a new transfer from the hospital in Thun (BE) to an ambulance located in Basel, an approach to the hospital being in fact not possible due to visibility.
She says she has several times had to resort to the Low Flight Network (LFN), a network of flight routes covering all of Switzerland. “Like on a highway, in the event of poor visibility, the helicopter follows a flight route recorded in the on-board computer” which connects airports, airfields, Rega bases and, above all, the country’s main hospitals. The network is still in development.
These neonatology procedures are demanding because they require special equipment and additional personnel, the company adds. “Premature babies need a warm environment because they cannot yet regulate their body temperature as well as adults. It is for this purpose in particular that they are placed in incubators.” The crews are therefore required to first go to the CHUV or the Bern hospital in order to load specialists and equipment.
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