00:01Before the day has even begun, teams are on standby at Portugal's emergency medical
00:07helicopter bases. When a call comes, every second counts.
00:11The time of response in medical emergency is the critical factor of success. We are
00:16with a time of silence. In three minutes, we can even lower in certain cases. Our
00:22average is three minutes of response after activation.
00:26The operation is run by Malta's Gulf Med in partnership with medical teams from
00:31Portugal's National Institute of Medical Emergency. Teams are stationed at four bases
00:37across Portugal, ensuring coverage of almost the entire country. From remote
00:43island areas to roads and coastal zones, the helicopter is able to provide quick
00:48assistance. It is equipped with ski-like landing gear instead of wheels so it can
00:52land on virtually any type of terrain.
00:56When we are walking, and before we see the patient, we have a brief information about
01:01what is described in the initial call. In this time, in the team, we are discussing
01:06the potential scenarios that we are going to find and anticipate the potential difficulties
01:11to anticipate and put time on what we can do in the initial approach.
01:26In the cockpit, the priority is to ensure everything goes smoothly all the way to the destination.
01:39Generally, we check the weather, we have an idea, so that when a primary call comes in, we can react
01:45very fast. If it's night time, that's a bit different because we have to consider the conditions again and obviously
01:54where we're landing and things, whereas the primary, we can land almost anywhere.
01:58So we can react usually within five minutes.
02:02The missions are divided into two categories. A primary mission is when a team is sent directly
02:08to the scene of the incident. Meanwhile, secondary missions are often transfers between hospital units.
02:14Desde janeiro até agora foram realizadas cerca de 230 missões com o helicóptero desta base. 160 foram ocorrências primárias, mostrando
02:25que este é um meio importante de emergência, sobretudo no interior do paÃs.
02:29Joana Morão Carvalho, para a Euronews, em Évora.
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