When you see it flying, it is usually not a good sign, but if you are in need, the yellow helicopter with the Mobile Medical Team (MMT) can literally be a gift from heaven. This month the team celebrates its 25th anniversary.
That team has its home base at Groningen Airport Eelde. There is a pilot, a doctor, a nurse and a driver at the station. Because in addition to the helicopter, the team also has an ambulance at its disposal, for example for a situation close to the airport. The helicopter is used for longer distances.
And this does not only happen in serious accidents, says Margot Bergsma, doctor within the Mobile Medical Team (MMT) in the Radio Drenthe program Cassata. “For example, it could also be a premature baby or a brain hemorrhage,” she says. The helicopter can be used in all situations where a patient is ‘vitally threatened’. These are patients who, for example, can no longer breathe properly or where other important organs no longer (threaten to) work properly.
For Bergsma, that is exactly the work that appeals to her. “These are of course not nice situations. But we are trained to help those people and it is also very nice to be able to do something there,” she says. “With our team we can provide care on the street that you can normally only start in the hospital. This improves the survival rate of patients.”
However, ‘providing care on the street’ should not be taken too literally. The trauma helicopter is used in accidents that literally land on the highway, but also in difficult areas where cars cannot reach.
The decision whether or not to deploy the helicopter lies primarily with the control room. If someone calls 112, they will be answered by an operator. This determines, based on a number of criteria, whether or not a helicopter will be sent into the air. “But it may also be the case that an ambulance nurse needs extra help. Even then, it may still be decided to send the helicopter.”
Bergsma does not only work from the helicopter. She also has both feet safely on the ground in the operating room as an anesthesia doctor. “That is very different. Everything is neatly in its place there and in the field that is not the case. Then you have to improvise,” she says. As a result, both activities have their charm, according to the doctor. “I like both. So also working in the hospital. Working on the helicopter remains very adventurous and it is a very nice team.”
For Bergsma, the beauty lies mainly in helping people, because the situations she encounters can have a lot of impact. “Every deployment is discussed afterwards. We talk about the approach, but also about medical treatment. We are also always asked whether everyone is ‘fit to fly’,” she says. This means that everyone is both physically and mentally able to be deployed again. Sometimes that is not the case. “Some deployments come in very quickly. It is also good that you feel that way. But then we may put the helicopter ‘on red’ for a short time. Then we look for a replacement to get the helicopter and the team ready to fly again as quickly as possible.”