The air ambulance service which has been operating on a pilot basis since 2012 has been made permanent, the Government has announced.
The Emergency Aeromedical Support Service, provided by the National Ambulance Service and the Air Corps, has completed more than 1,000 missions to date.
It operates out of Athlone, mostly on the western seaboard where it is useful for quickly transporting patients with heart attacks or major trauma to appropriate medical centres.
Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said the service, which costs €2.6 million, has saved "dozens if not hundreds of lives" since 2012.
The permanent service will continue to operate out of Athlone and will be reviewed every two or three years. Mr Varadkar said in future it could be decided that the HSE alone will provide the service or that it could be privatised.
He said University Hospital Galway is the main destination for helicopter callouts at the moment and that roof or ground landing sites will have to be considered in future hospital developments elsewhere.
The helicopter used for the air ambulance service is an Agusta Westland AW139, the largest in the Irish fleet. Minister for Defence Simon Coveney said the Air Corps has been exemplary in providing the service to date.
“I welcome the establishment of a permanent EAS service and the ongoing support to the National Ambulance Service by the Defence Forces in providing such a valuable service to people in rural communities,” he said.
