A patient who arrived at San Martino and suffered from cerebral haemorrhage was transferred in the middle of the night to the Intensive Care Unit of the Ca ‘Foncello in Treviso.
Belluno. First night flight of the Suem 118 helicopter in the province of Belluno. For years the highlands have been waiting to have an essential service in the field of medical aid and after many reminders, protests and positions it has finally been activated.
Saturday evening a patient, who arrived the same evening at the San Martino di Belluno emergency room, had to be transferred to the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit of the Ca ‘Foncello hospital in Treviso, because she had suffered from cerebral haemorrhage and was in conditions that were becoming progressively critical. For the mission the crew consisted of pilot, co-pilot, anesthetist and nurse. Upon arrival at Ca ‘Foncello, the patient reached the bed already set up in the Intensive Care Unit, where she is still hospitalized.
The night flight of the helicopter rescue has been active in the Veneto for three days, based in Treviso. The start-up was made possible by the new regional contract signed last July, opening the start of all the preliminary operations for the start of the service.
The regional programming has provided for the night flight service based in Pieve di Cadore at the service of Ulss 1, 2, 3 and 4, but since the construction ofheliport of the Pieve hospital has not been completed, and in the Belluno area there are no other structures compliant with the aeronautical regulations governing night flights, in order not to further delay the start of the service, the activity has been temporarily assigned to Ulss 2 Treviso.
“The first night flight of the Suem 118 helicopter over Belluno is the result of an important technical and administrative work”, underlines the president of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia. “As foreseen by the programming, the goal is to base it in the Belluno area but while waiting for the structures to realize this perspective, considering the service a priority for the health and safety of citizens, we started it as soon as possible by exploiting the Treviso heliport ».
The activity already covers the provinces of Belluno and Treviso and in the coming days the coverage will be extended to the Asiago plateau and the Venetian with particular interest for the more peripheral areas of Ulss 4 and the southern area of Ulss 3.
“With the night helicopter rescue we are giving a fundamental service to the most difficult to reach areas, mountainous and lagoon areas of our region”, concludes Zaia. “It will not be the absolute and definitive solution in all cases. In fact, it is a service that requires indispensable conditions, starting with the favorable atmospheric ones, but in the face of emergencies, distances are considerably reduced even in the darkest hours of the day and night with an intervention capacity that was not possible up to now ».