On Tuesday (14 March), the SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service (AMS) celebrates its 40th birthday as the first volunteer aero-medical service in South Africa.

This is an important milestone for the non-profit organisation, which plays a vital role in providing not only emergency rescue and air ambulance services but a community outreach programme taking critically-needed healthcare to impoverished rural communities.

Since 1966, the AMS has flown 6,521,334 kilometers and transferred 12,849 critically ill or injured patients via its fixed- and rotor-wing air ambulance service.

Its flying doctor and health outreach programme has made healthcare and surgery regularly available to 212,877 isolated patients in rural areas in Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, since 1996 and 1998 respectively. It has also created regular opportunities for capacity building of local healthcare specialists, who benefit from the hands-on training from the visiting outreach teams.

"Due to the huge need for our services in the more remote areas of our country, we have expanded exponentially and look forward to spreading our wings over the next forty years and more,” says John Stone, CEO of the AMS, which, in its birthday year, is asking people for a R40 monthly gift as a contribution towards purchasing state-of-the art medical and aviation equipment and development of infrastructure and services.

“While we are able to recover most of our operational costs from provincial health departments and other associated medical aid organisations, our development nevertheless relies heavily on supplementary public donations,” says Stone.

"Apart from fundraising, our birthday year is the ideal time to celebrate on behalf of the many people we have saved, as well those whose lives have benefited in so many ways from regular access to otherwise unavailable, equitable healthcare.

“It is also fitting for us to pay tribute to the thousands of aviation, medical and healthcare specialists who, over the years, have voluntarily contributed time and expertise to provide this life-changing, life-saving care. They are the everyday heroes, who perform an extra-ordinary service to society’s most vulnerable."

In 1966, with enthusiasm, vision and a Cessna 205 single-engine six-seater aircraft, volunteers from the South African Red Cross Society flew their first air ambulance flight from Cape Town to Oudtshoorn.

This was to be the first of thousands of mercy flights across South Africa.

Since then, the AMS has grown into a comprehensive aero-medical network, working closely on service delivery with the provincial departments of health.

The AMS now has bases in Western Cape (Cape Town and Oudtshoorn), KwaZulu-Natal (Durban and Richard's Bay) and Northern Cape (Kimberley) creating access to healthcare, air ambulance and emergency medical services for all communities. See editor's notes for localised statistics.

To donate, please sms “gift” to 38709, visit www.ams.org.za, tel (021) 487-3860 or e-mail adele@ams.org.za.

Editors’ notes
In the Western Cape, the AMS last year saved the lives of 929 people, ranging from critically- ill patients to those needing rescue from hazardous mountainsides, stormy seas and other danger areas. Its rotor wing service performed 38 mountain / sea rescues and transferred 375 patients, whilst the fixed wing air ambulance flew 332,871 kilometers and transferred 517 patients to hospital during 383 flights.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the AMS outreach service last year handled 464 surgical cases and made possible 225 optometry clinics, 565 specialist clinics and 178 rehabilitation clinics, providing care to more than 20,445 patients in rural communities. In July 2005, the AMS started a new helicopter emergency medical service at Durban International, which has transferred 122 patients, whilst the organisation’s new helicopter emergency medical service was established in Richards Bay in December.

In the Northern Cape, the AMS is based at Kimberley Airport, from where it provides rural health outreach and emergency aero-medical services to peripheral communities. Last year alone, the service flew a total of 927,903 kilometers and provided specialist and surgical services to rural hospitals in Calvinia, De Aar, Springbok, Kuruman, Jan Kempdorp and Upington.

Issued by:
Susann McLachlan, Public Relations Officer, SA Red Cross Air Mercy Service
Tel: (021) 934-0916, Fax: (021) 934-8700, Cell: 082 775 4891
E-mail: susann@ams.org.za