Emergency medical response company Helivac has developed a centralised database, Helivac Assist, to enable paramedics to access comprehensive member information using a personal digital assistant, such as a Blackberry cellphone, during an emergency situation.

Helivac is connected to all paramedics, ambulances and helicopter services in the country and when a call comes in about a critically injured member, the nearest paramedics and helicopter or ambulance are dispatched.

On arrival, paramedics will scan a registration or serial number into the system and have access to all the patient’s details, such as blood type, his or her medical history and whether the patient has medical aid, as well as contact details, address and next of kin information.

If the patient is critically injured and meets the Helivac flight criteria, he or she will be airlifted to the nearest hospital that has helicopter access, otherwise an ambulance will be used.

“Helicopters can get to those remote places that ambulances cannot. Our access to helicopters is especially needed for people who cycle, hike or even horse ride,” says Helivac product developer Jean-Pierre van Tonder.

Helivac plans to equip every paramedic in the country with a software package for their personal digital assistant devices, enabling them to connect to the Helivac Assist system to retrieve vital information during emergencies.

“There are only 225 practising para- medics in the country, serving about 50-million people,” says Van Tonder.