Discovery Health today announced a new partnership with ER24 that bolsters the capacity of critical emergency services around the country.
Three medicopters - or helicopter ambulances – and three medicopter ground support vehicles for scene safety and public information will join ER24’s emergency medical fleet.
“We are proud to be part of this partnership. We believe Discovery Health’s investment will go a long way in helping to ease the immense pressure on over-burdened emergency services. It will specifically boost ER24’s nationwide footprint for South Africans in the main city centres of Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.” says Neville Koopowitz, CEO of Discovery Health.
“South Africa has a critical shortage of medicopters, with only six medicopters deployed nationally; not nearly enough to address the need for airlifting and critical assistance,” says Andrew Boden, CEO of ER24. “On a daily basis there are numerous requests for air evacuations and we can only assist in a small percentage of these cases because of limited resources.”
A medicopter is commonly used when special
expertise is required on scene, or where access is limited by road; or where saving time to definitive hospital care is beneficial for the patient’s treatment and outcome.
The standard equipment on a medicopter includes medication, ECG and vital sign monitoring units, ventilators, immobilisation equipment including a vacuum mattress necessary for transporting patients with spinal injuries.
Boden from ER24 adds that each medicopter will have a doctor and Advanced Life Support (ALS) trained paramedic on board who are able to deal with acute emergencies such as advanced airway and circulatory management, obstetric and paediatric emergencies.
Koopowitz says this partnership forms part of Discovery Health’s commitment to improve and build a better healthcare system for all South Africans.
“We are putting partnerships in place that make a real difference to the lives of all South Africans. Our health sector is under tremendous pressure because of skill shortages and the need for more healthcare professionals across all disciplines. We believe that this initiative will not only save precious lives but will help to address some of these pressing issues.”
ER24 will take over all the operational aspects of the Discovery 911 emergency services from 22 July. This will include responsibility for taking emergency calls and dispatching EMS teams, managing inter-hospital transfers, providing medical advice and offering cell phone-based location services in a medical emergency.
The addition of the Discovery Health membership base – of over two million lives – will substantially increase the current ER24 membership base.
-Ends-
The information in Discovery’s press releases is specifically meant for journalists and consumers should not use it to make financial decisions. Detailed information about Discovery’s products is available at http://www.discovery.co.za/
Three medicopters - or helicopter ambulances – and three medicopter ground support vehicles for scene safety and public information will join ER24’s emergency medical fleet.“We are proud to be part of this partnership. We believe Discovery Health’s investment will go a long way in helping to ease the immense pressure on over-burdened emergency services. It will specifically boost ER24’s nationwide footprint for South Africans in the main city centres of Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.” says Neville Koopowitz, CEO of Discovery Health.
“South Africa has a critical shortage of medicopters, with only six medicopters deployed nationally; not nearly enough to address the need for airlifting and critical assistance,” says Andrew Boden, CEO of ER24. “On a daily basis there are numerous requests for air evacuations and we can only assist in a small percentage of these cases because of limited resources.”
A medicopter is commonly used when special
expertise is required on scene, or where access is limited by road; or where saving time to definitive hospital care is beneficial for the patient’s treatment and outcome.The standard equipment on a medicopter includes medication, ECG and vital sign monitoring units, ventilators, immobilisation equipment including a vacuum mattress necessary for transporting patients with spinal injuries.
Boden from ER24 adds that each medicopter will have a doctor and Advanced Life Support (ALS) trained paramedic on board who are able to deal with acute emergencies such as advanced airway and circulatory management, obstetric and paediatric emergencies.
Koopowitz says this partnership forms part of Discovery Health’s commitment to improve and build a better healthcare system for all South Africans.
“We are putting partnerships in place that make a real difference to the lives of all South Africans. Our health sector is under tremendous pressure because of skill shortages and the need for more healthcare professionals across all disciplines. We believe that this initiative will not only save precious lives but will help to address some of these pressing issues.”
ER24 will take over all the operational aspects of the Discovery 911 emergency services from 22 July. This will include responsibility for taking emergency calls and dispatching EMS teams, managing inter-hospital transfers, providing medical advice and offering cell phone-based location services in a medical emergency.
The addition of the Discovery Health membership base – of over two million lives – will substantially increase the current ER24 membership base.
-Ends-
The information in Discovery’s press releases is specifically meant for journalists and consumers should not use it to make financial decisions. Detailed information about Discovery’s products is available at http://www.discovery.co.za/
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