Need for helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) in rural British Columbia

Currently, there is no dedicated helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) in Northern British Columbia (BC). Injuries to workers in BC result in the loss of more economically productive years than heart disease and cancer combined and cost nearly $2.8 billion per year. Nearly three quarters of all people who die of trauma-related conditions in Northern BC do so before they can be brought to a hospital 82% in Northwestern BC, compared to 12% in Metro Vancouver (Cameron 2007 McKenna 2013). Minimizing the time from injury to optimal trauma care through the utilization of HEMS has been adopted as an essential component of emergency care infrastructures Globally. The purpose of this paper is to examine the opportunities, challenges and needs of a dedicated helicopter emergency medical system to service the remote regions of Northern BC. --Leaf iii.