An emergency call comes in. Shortly afterwards, an air ambulance takes off from the Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin (ukb) in Marzahn. On board are the pilot, an emergency doctor and an emergency paramedic – a well-rehearsed team for missions where routine, precision and time can all be crucial.
Their destination is the small town of Lübben in Brandenburg. A patient with severe burns is waiting there. He needs to be taken quickly to the ukb’s specialist burns centre. For the crew, this is a familiar routine.
"When an emergency call comes in, every moment counts," says emergency doctor Jan Martin. "With heart attack or stroke patients in particular, tissue is lost with every minute that passes without treatment." That is why everything has to be prepared at the start of the shift so the crew can take off immediately. From the alarm to lift-off, it usually takes no more than two minutes.
Where air rescue is especially vital
Air rescue does not replace the ambulance service on the ground; it complements it. It becomes particularly important where distances are long, hospitals are far apart or specialised treatments are only available at a few locations. In those cases the time saved by using a helicopter can be decisive – both for initial care and for transfers.
