“Elefsina, Kos, Rhodes, Heraklion, Santorini, back to Elefsina and Asklepio Voulas. All we have to do is return to our base and it’s our turn again,” wrote a doctor from EKAV air transport in an August 5 social media post. Another “flying” doctor described how the shift took place on July 29: from Eleusis to Kythnos, from Kythnos to Tinos and back to Eleusis. From Elefsina to Mykonos and back. From Elefsina to Chania. “Office work…” as they say to each other.

It is expected that this year the number of air transportation will be a record for at least a decade, given the growth in tourist traffic in our country. For example, on Wednesday, August 3, there were 23 air shipments from the Cyclades alone, and 11 sea shipments on the same day. From the beginning of the year until the end of July, the Air Force Ambulance carried out 571 sorties, during which 721 patients were transported. That is, more than were treated with the same drugs last year during the year (640 patients in total). More than half of the airlift was carried out with two aircraft and two helicopters donated to EKAV by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. In 2019, also with a big tourist wave, there were 900 Air Force flights for 1,271 patients.

Last month, the US Air Force alone flew 147 sorties for 197 patients (another 37 sorties were flown by the Army Air Force Chinook). The most recent year with over 100 Air Force airlifts in July was 2012 (105).

The increase in air transport is clearly related to the growth of tourism. “The islands have been flooded with people this year. It’s not just residents and tourists. They are also employees of the tourism business,” says the president of the Medical Association of Kos and the director of the island’s hospital, Maria Frazaki. “Traffic has increased on the island and in our clinic,” points to “K” scientific director of the Serifos Multidynamic Regional Clinic, Athanasios Kontaris, and adds that “in one day, we observed 35 cases who had to stay for a short hospitalization of 1-2 hours.”

“The Santorini hospital does not have a pathologist or a cardiologist. A cardiologist in stable condition cannot stay in the hospital.

There is another factor affecting the number of air travel: the lack of staff in health centers. Kos Hospital is left without a pediatrician or pathologist. For several months, the Tinos Health Center did not have a general practitioner or pathologist to deal with a serious pathological incident. “The Santorini hospital does not have a pathologist or a cardiologist. A cardiologist in stable condition cannot stay in the hospital. Most of the small islands are either understaffed or have young, inexperienced doctors,” said an EKAV spokesman, who believes that the medical posts on the islands need serious staff. Even a doctor’s referral does not always solve the problem. “A cardiologist stranded on an island called to request an airlift. We decided that he could keep the incident at the medical facility where he was. When we told her, she replied that when she went on a mission to the island, she was promised that EKAV would be by her side, no matter what and whenever needed,” she describes.

“Some time ago, we took care of the air transportation of a 4-year-old child with acute appendicitis. He couldn’t stay in the hospital because we don’t have a pediatric surgeon,” Ms Fratzakis said on Tuesday evening. Since the beginning of the year, 90 flights have been carried out from Kos, mostly injured as a result of traffic accidents, cardiological and pathological. As Ms. Frazaki notes, “That’s a big number, especially considering we still have the rest of August and September ahead of us.” She emphasizes: “I understand that not every island has a hospital with all clinics and specialties. I think we should look at the experience of other island countries, how they deal with this problem. And floating gears need to be developed more.” On Kos, Rhodes can only be reached by air or by ship.

On the contrary, in other areas of the island, the Coast Guard has floating ambulances. For such transfers, patients must be accompanied by a doctor from the department requesting the transfer. Such as said K. EKAV officials, Corfu has very good transport and in addition the Coast Guard has a floating ambulance in the area. A frequent fight between Corfu doctors and EKAV is when they call for an airlift because they cannot accompany a patient in a floating ambulance.

Coast security

In July, the Coast Guard carried out 224 patient transfers nationwide, up from 152 in the corresponding month of 2021. Lately there are about 3-4 boat trips a week from Serifos. On the contrary, there was little air traffic. According to Mr. Kontari, the experience of doctors, who assess how the incident will develop, as well as the ambulance staff who will take the call, plays a big role in air travel. “There is always a fear in EKAV that an aircraft or helicopter will not be raised without a serious reason. On the other hand, there is also the anxiety of a doctor, especially an inexperienced one, about how the patient’s condition will develop. He may be afraid that the weather will block him, or that night will come and he will not be able to get to the helicopter if necessary. I saw how the doctors staged the incident to get the helicopter to take off. But this has costs and risks. We all remember the three crashes of EKAV helicopters and the deaths of rescuers. It is much easier for a rural doctor to call and order air transportation. They don’t have the clinical experience to “dive deep”. Before entering the field service, they must be trained under these conditions. And they need more bases on larger islands.” EKAV for air transport has bases in Elefsina, Rhodes, Syros and Aktio. “Milos could have a helicopter base for the western Cyclades. This will reduce the time of contacting a specialized doctor,” concludes Mr. Kontaris.

Numbers

571 Airlift for 721 patients was performed by the Air Force (Air Force) from early 2022 through July.

101% increase in the number of patients treated with PA. for the first seven months of 2022 compared to the corresponding period of 2021.

1349 flight hours for air transport via PA from the beginning of 2022 to July 2022.

3500-7500 euro cost per flight hour.

1036 transfers by Coast Guard vessels from the beginning of the year to July.