Air Ambulance Transfers: Dying in the Aegean

· Why is there such a significant weakness in the timely transfer of patients and injured individuals from the Aegean islands?
· Where are the helicopters that have been purchased and paid for with billions by taxpayers?
· The Greek deficit in air ambulance services and search and rescue leaves space for Turkey.
· How much do delays in air ambulance services cost the public treasury? One million euros per hour of delay.
· The virtual helipads in hospitals.
· How did the sinking of the “Stefanovikio” affect operational capabilities in the transfer of patients and injured individuals?”

By Paris Karvounopoulos

On October 27, a young man was tragically lost. At just 22 years old, the young individual suffered a cardiac arrest in Naxos, one of the most popular tourist islands in the Aegean that is not classified as “remote”. A stone’s throw away is Syros, where, in theory at least, there is the most organized hospital in the Cyclades. There was also a helicopter of the Armed Forces permanently stationed there. However, as was proven in the case of the 22-year-old, even that… theoretically existed. As of August 14, the NH-90 helicopter of the Army Air Force had been withdrawn.

About three weeks ago, the base of the 1st Army Aviation Brigade was submerged by the waters of Lake Karla due to the storm Daniel. The disappearance of the base, of the helicopters parked there, but mainly the loss of crucial technical equipment for helicopter maintenance, was the final blow to the already fragile system of aerial transfers from the Aegean islands. The helicopter never returned to Syros, and this might have sealed the fate of a young man. We refer to the 22-year-old who, while awaiting a helicopter in touristy Naxos, suffered a second cardiac arrest.

During the critical hours when his life was at stake, an AW-109 TREKKER helicopter, one of the ones donated by the Niarchos Foundation, was in the air. No Super Puma, no NH-90, no Chinook. One of the two AW-109 TREKKERs was on a mission in Andros. It returned to Elefsina, and then received orders to take off, initially to pick up a German woman from Tinos and then the young man from Naxos. By the time the helicopter landed to pick him up, many hours had already passed. The helicopter landed in Elefsina, from where an ambulance took him to Evangelismos Hospital. Before reaching the hospital, he suffered the third and fatal cardiac arrest… The heart problem he experienced was caused by an infection that led to myocarditis, according to reports.

This was the most recent tragic incident of an unfair death in the Aegean. It wasn’t the first, and unfortunately, if the same situation continues, it won’t be the last.

The question that arises is reasonable: If all this is happening in the touristy and not-so-remote island of Naxos, what happens on the islands that are just a stone’s throw away from Turkish shores?

The mayor of Symi, Lefteris Papakalodoukas, describes the greatest fear of the islanders and highlights the absolute neglect of the Greek state, not only in the air with the invisible helicopters but also at sea with Coast Guard vessels that can’t travel in winds exceeding 5 Beaufort!

Mayor of Symi, Lefteris Papakalodoukas: The fear of the islanders

On paper, the country has two air ambulance centers. One is in Syros, where, as mentioned earlier, there hasn’t been a helicopter since August 14th. And it seems that, after the disaster at Stefanovikio (Read the DT investigation: Stefanovikio: Unraveling the epic tale of the Armed Forces’ “Titanic” tragedy ), there won’t be one for a long time. The second center is in Aktio, and guess what? It’s still operational, not with one of the expensive aerial vehicles paid for by Greek taxpayers (such as Super Puma or NH-90, for example), but with two Beechcraft King Air 350C aircraft in 2021, donated by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. These aircraft have the capability of transporting two patients by air and have a specialized mechanism for lifting stretchers. Additionally, the aircraft are equipped with an incubator transport system for the transfer of newborns.

The Beechcraft King Air 350s belong to the 356 Tactical Transport Squadron “Hercules”, which is based at Elefsina airport.

But there is another absurdity, which has to do with the money we pay for air ambulance transfers and their long delays.

The average cost of a flight has been set at €20,000. Many of these could have been avoided. For example, the transport of newborns in need of incubators. One hour of flying costs EUR 20,000 when the cost of an incubator is only EUR 5,000. No one has ever explained why we did not take care to buy the necessary incubators for the hospital in Rhodes, for example, and why we preferred all cases of newborns to be transported by helicopter to Crete. When we had helicopters. The money we would have saved would have been a lot and could have been allocated to more medical staff for our islands.

Instead of these simple things, the current government has made announcements about the creation of …six air ambulance bases. In the Air Force they are sniggering since to implement such a plan requires people – 8 crews for each base at least – that are not there and helicopters that are certainly not there. Right now, they are flying … two Super Puma and one of them very soon will have to undergo major maintenance. The second one, which is in Rhodes, is being “pestered” and loaded with unnecessary flight hours to participate in …air shows in Athens. They brought it in a few 24 hours before Daniel hit Thessaly, not to have it on standby for the expected disaster but to fly it in… Athens Flying Week. It was brought from Rhodes a second time to fly in the air show held at Faliro, for the Hellenic Air Force celebration.

Eurocopter AS 332 Super Puma (ΤΑΤΙΑΝΑ ΜΠΟΛΑΡΗ/EUROKINISSI)

It is estimated that every year there is a need for 3,500 airlifts, at an estimated cost of around €70 million. Even when they are feasible, however, the resulting delays add significant costs. According to studies by the World Health Organization and the European Health Organization, for every hour of delay, a cost of EUR 1,000,000 is added to the health system. Unfortunately, delays are always a given, since all patients and injured people land in Elefsina, and from there they have to be transferred by ambulance to hospitals in Athens, which, according to Panagiotis Papanikolaou, secretary general of the Federation of Greek Hospital Doctors’ Associations, on paper have… helipads. But only on paper.

Panagiotis Papanikolaou: Secretary General of the Federation of Hospital Doctors’ Associations

What is worse is that the situation in recent months has deteriorated dramatically and delays in islanders’ helicopter calls are almost futile.

It is assumed that the heavy burden of airlifting in the Aegean should be carried by helicopters like the Super Puma. There are only two that can fly. Are their maintenance problems insurmountable after all? The issue of the airlift “gap” has to do primarily with human lives, but also with national issues. This cannot go unnoticed. Retired Air Force Officer Panagiotis Kouris, who has vast experience in arms contracts explains.

Retired Air Force Officer Panagiotis Kouris on Super Puma

The solution to the problem is not that complicated. When so many billions have been wasted on armaments of dubious utility and necessity, the unwillingness or inability of the Greek state to do the simple things needed for the inhabitants of the Aegean islands to feel reasonably safe raises suspicious questions.

Panagiotis Papanikolaou: Secretary General of the Federation of Hospital Doctors’ Associations

The mayor of Symi focuses on the disappearance of the Super Puma helicopters and proposes an alternative solution. So far, Athens does not seem to be listening to him.

The Mayor of Symi Lefteris Papakalodoukas

As it is known, in Greece, there are always some who seem to see an opportunity in every crisis. This appears to be the case with the helicopter issue that we have “paid a fortune” for but aren’t flying because someone “forgot” or didn’t ensure their uninterrupted maintenance. This is how we ended up with the tragic unavailability of… two helicopters. Is there a solution? There are always solutions, but in Greece, for some reason, the most expensive and certainly unnecessary ones are always chosen.

Thus, for the case of the maintenance upgrade of 10 Super Puma helicopters, there is a proposal circulating of a cost of 120 million euros. But it is unknown why the “solution” of buying new helicopters – 14 A139s from Italy – is being promoted, with the cost, including crew training and maintenance package, reaching 500 million. Apart from the big cost difference, there is a question that every reasonable person asks: how many different types of helicopters can a country like Greece maintain? Each type of helicopter requires different training, different spare parts, and maintenance. Countries much more economically powerful than Greece have one – at most two – types of air assets for air ambulance-patient transport missions.

Greece currently has six (6) different types of helicopters.

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