Helicopter Medical Flight Crew

This is a supplement to the CCAT course which follows on immediately after CCAT 2010. It has been designed to introduce medical, nursing and paramedical personnel to the practical aeronautical aspects of working in the helicopter air ambulance environment.

As a stand alone two and a half day course, the syllabus covers elementary aspects of:

• Principles of helicopter flight
• Safety in and around helicopters
• Landing site selection and marshalling
• Radio communications
• Navigation
• Airmanship
• Crew resource management (teamwork)

In addition, every effort will be made to ensure that delegates have an opportunity to fly and put their navigation and other new skills to the test. However, CCAT can not guarantee this phase of the course if, for operational, weather, or technical reasons, flying would be unsafe or unavailable. In the event of cancellation of the flying experience, a partial refund of the course fee will be made.

When taken as a supplement to the CCAT course, successful students will be prepared to the standard recognised by the European Joint Aviation Authority in its published recommendations for helicopter air ambulance medical crew. The CCAT course, in addition to covering the general aspects of aeromedical care, has six hours specifically covering the following aspects of HEMS (helicopter emergency medical services) operations:

• Capabilities and operations of the helicopter
• Aeromedical helicopters - Do the results justify the means?
• The London Helicopter Emergency Medical Services
• Search and Rescue
• Helicopter demonstration
• Airborne equipment demonstration
• Lifting and loading
• Patient safety and security
• Case studies