CRI听力:First-aid Helicopter

Yesterday morning, a first-aid helicopter embarked on a trial flight in Beijing.

During the emergency drill, a 999 ambulance carrying a patient becomes stuck in a traffic jam on Badaling Highway. At a distance of about 52 kilometers away from the First-Aid center, it would take half an hour to get there, even without the traffic jam. 

In order to save time, the emergency services decide to use the first-aid helicopter immediately after the ambulance driver calls for help. The helicopter takes off at Badaling Airport; meanwhile the ambulance drives off the highway and waits in an open space. 20 minutes later, the patient is sent into surgery.

Beijing Red Cross is the operator of the 999 emergency service. Han Lu, the vice president, introduces the coordinated command of the ambulance and the helicopter.

"Thanks to the first-aid helicopter, we can reach any place in Beijing within 1 hour. At the moment, the helicopter is mainly used in medical emergencies. In the future it will be used to rescue and transport patients from outer suburbs and counties."

Two helicopters are to be used during medical emergencies, each with a pilot, a doctor, a nurse and first aid equipment on board. He Chi, vice president of Hainan airlines Helicopter Company, introduces the plan to use helicopters in the case of an emergency.

"We will have 6 helicopters that will be used during medical emergencies by the end of this year, providing a more efficient, timelier and safer service with a larger coverage."

According to He, 10 helicopter launch and landing pads will be built over the course of the next 5 years, especially near large hospitals.

First-aid helicopters are commonly used in western countries: Germany have been using first-aid helicopter since 1980, and the US began using them in 1970. Japan's first-aid helicopters cover half of the country's territory. But China is now catching up with the trend.

However, there are a number of problems for China's first-aid helicopters, and the biggest one is the cost. The 20 billion yuan helicopter costs an additional 30 thousand yuan per hour to run. Han Lu says that Beijing Red Cross will seek cooperation with various official departments as well as a number of social organizations.

"We'll seek government support, and we also need to set up a fund with the cooperation of insurance companies, so that the expense can be affordable to ordinary people."

In western countries, a big portion of this expense is paid for by insurance companies. It is hoped that more and more Chinese patients will be able to benefit from this service at an affordable price.

For CRI, I'm Zhangwan.