[Helicopters and medical first aid units. Role of Medical First Aid Unit 94].

For the transport of injured and sick patients, the helicopter (even the mono-turbine type) offers greater advantages when compared to land vehicles: - more comfort (less vibrations, accelerations and decelerations); - a greater speed, that is to say a 61 p. 100 gain of time upon the distance and a gain from 29 up to 44 p. 100 upon the total amount of time taken up by each transport. This gain in time enables valuable specialised medical teams to be more available: - more precise time-tables than by land which namely makes it easier to receive the patients. The drawbacks are linked with the risks which are not nonexistent but rather less serious than by land. The drawbacks also depend upon the weather-conditions (although this factor does not matter much in our area), upon nuisances such as the noise (which is more important but far more transitory than by ambulance) and chiefly upon the cost of air-transport. In fact, the mean cost of a medical land transport amounts roughly to one thousand Francs, a quarter of which only does represent the actual cost of medical aid. For a similar transport, the helicopter comes to a 47 mns flight. There are several ways of making good use of a helicopter. Practical problems have been solved. The "SAMU 94" experience goes back to 1973 and includes over 500 transports by helicopter essentially with the help of the teams and the helicopters belonging to the Paris Base (Civil Protection and the Fire-Brigade). For flights over urban areas, it is to be desired in the future that only twin-turbine helicopters should be used.