First rooftop helipad put to use for emergency medical services – one year after its trial. Surely, a medical advancement in the country!

The first rooftop Helipad put to use for emergency medical services more than a year of its first trial. Helicopter-based emergency medical services (HEMS) sits on top of the Orthopedic Building at the Military Hospital 175 in Ho Chi Minh City.

This was more than a year from its actual first trial flight last November 8, 2019. The first trial flight result showed it is fully operational and safe to use thus the HEMS site was inaugurated last December 19, 2020.

The facility will solely operate for the purpose of transporting injured soldiers and locals from Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands off south-central Khanh Hoa Province.

Its ultimate objective is to become a multipurpose HEMS center for road, waterway and air routes to provide quality medical service for both officials and locals in Ho Chi Minh City including its neighboring provinces and the southern region.

Initially according to Major General Son, helicopters for emergency medical services had to land at Tan Son Nhat International Airport carrying its patients for transport to the nearest hospital by ambulance.

Unfortunately, these ambulances are most of the time stuck in traffic and medical doctors had to delay or the worst case scenario totally missed an important medical treatment.

According to Major General Son, in the past, the transfer of patients from the island to the mainland took roughly three hours and 30 minutes. With the help of the helicopter, it skipped 20-30 minutes.

He adds that this is their dream. The air route is for all patients and people.

Son also said that the hospital will soon be formulating a flight procedure and routines to guarantee national security while conducting HEMS flights.

Following its inauguration, the HEMS at the military hospital triumphantly received two medical patients in need of treatment.

Based on Military Hospital 175’ statistics, there are approximately seven to ten patients that are transported through air each year.