First off - there are a lot of medevacs in Manitoba because Winnipeg also handles hospital care for the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. Also there are only hospitals in a few places in the province and there are no roads to many places.
Second - the term priority, in my experience, is asked (for example) to determine if we need to land straight in 18 when 36 is the active (and re-route other traffic), as opposed to coming around for 31. Of course they are both important, but in some cases that extra five minutes might make a huge difference.
Third - for aircraft correcting themselves and saying they aren't medevac - that is because when the patient has been transferred and we are empty we do not use the medevac status, but after 12 hours its not easy to change the call sign you've been using.
Priority Medivac
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Yes, that's one situation where the priority is used, but more so is when we're moving medevacs for medevacs.sakism wrote:Second - the term priority, in my experience, is asked (for example) to determine if we need to land straight in 18 when 36 is the active (and re-route other traffic), as opposed to coming around for 31. Of course they are both important, but in some cases that extra five minutes might make a huge difference.
I've lost track of the amount of times I've had 3 (or more) medevacs tied for the field. Hell, on one midnight shift we had 5 medevacs inbound within about 3-4 minutes of each other. In these situations, we have to know who needs to get in first.
if you become a priority enroute, do you mean you are upgrading to medivac status, or a 'priority medivac'? If it wasent that important before, why were you a medivac? That is where my question arises from.the bottom line is, you should RARELY be a priority. If the patient isn't stable enough to make it to the hospital, they're not supposed to even get a medevac. But, having said that, sometimes shit happens, and then you become a priority enroute.
If 2 or more are inbound at the same time, fair question, but other times i;d think medivac means ' i want priority'!!!!!!!
I challenge you to look in the any regulatory document to find a difference between "Priority Medevac" and "Medevac". There's no such thing as "Priority medevac", you're either a medevac, meaning you need priority over almost all other traffic, or you're not. Just because you've got an overpriced sled system in the back, doesn't mean you get to go around calling your self a medevac all day.
I have some friends who fly medivacs out west and they said the agreement was if the call was a priority call they used the medivac call sign with centre. If it is just a transfer or low priority (I guess the doctors decide who's high and low) they don't use medivac status. The point being they only use it if it is actually required.
Tell that to the poor soul who needs the transfer. We conduct Medevacs routinely - never are they in good condition.Four1oh wrote: If the patient isn't stable enough to make it to the hospital, they're not supposed to even get a medevac.
Using MEDEVAC in your callsign simply opens a few doors for you in the IFRCC/ATS world and lets you make requests that would normally get denied. We have informed tower to get aircraft to "go around" or "delay" in order to expedite our departure - not something normally done at aerodromes.
SAR_YQQ, I said stable. The only ones in good condition are the ones who fake a tylenol overdose so they can go shopping in winnipeg. There is also another level of medevac service that CAN take an unstable patient, and they are usually staffed by an onboard doctor AND at least 1 nurse. I also know there's not many of those types of medevacs out there.
GO_Guns, I agree, you're right, but it's an airmanship thing, as far as I'm concerned. It is ALWAYS a medevac if there's a patient on board, I thought that went without saying. Anyone calling themselves a medevac empty and aren't on the way to pick up a patient should not be calling themselves as such. I only called myself a priority when the patient had to get the hospital ASAP by ambulance, not to go by cab for an xray or something silly like that.
I did fly medevac in norther manitoba, so there were nights were there were three flights all inbound at the same time, and we rarely had a problem. At 2-4am, YWG center doesn't give a damn if we sort it out ourselves and come up with a plan, and we never had to slow down hardly ever to accomodate each other. IE: 1 lands straight-in on 18, the other takes a base for 13. Like I said, airmanship. Do a search, there's another topic that's been beaten to death on this forum.
This isn't rocket surgery. If ATC asks if you're a priority, and you're not sure, turn around, holler at your nurse, and ask if the charcoal drink has worked it's way through the patient yet... if not, it's a priority.(just kidding)
GO_Guns, I agree, you're right, but it's an airmanship thing, as far as I'm concerned. It is ALWAYS a medevac if there's a patient on board, I thought that went without saying. Anyone calling themselves a medevac empty and aren't on the way to pick up a patient should not be calling themselves as such. I only called myself a priority when the patient had to get the hospital ASAP by ambulance, not to go by cab for an xray or something silly like that.
I did fly medevac in norther manitoba, so there were nights were there were three flights all inbound at the same time, and we rarely had a problem. At 2-4am, YWG center doesn't give a damn if we sort it out ourselves and come up with a plan, and we never had to slow down hardly ever to accomodate each other. IE: 1 lands straight-in on 18, the other takes a base for 13. Like I said, airmanship. Do a search, there's another topic that's been beaten to death on this forum.
This isn't rocket surgery. If ATC asks if you're a priority, and you're not sure, turn around, holler at your nurse, and ask if the charcoal drink has worked it's way through the patient yet... if not, it's a priority.(just kidding)
Think of it like this:185_guy wrote:if you become a priority enroute, do you mean you are upgrading to medivac status, or a 'priority medivac'? If it wasent that important before, why were you a medivac? That is where my question arises from.
If 2 or more are inbound at the same time, fair question, but other times i;d think medivac means ' i want priority'!!!!!!!
Case 1 - guy has appendicitis - in intense pain, may rupture at any time - needs to get to the hospital instead of being issued a hold, etc.
Case 2 - guy has ruptured appendix - needs to get on the ground NOW - no worrying about 172s in the circuit, Westjet lined up for the opposing runway, etc.
Priority is almost like declaring an emergency. As someone said we are almost never priority, but when we say we are we really need any little time saving we can get.
I had a DNR (do not resuscitated) fights not medevac priority, a patient released from the hospital to go home to pass away.... not my best flight, but I got him home still alive, as much as he was suffering, he tanks me as I was carrying him off... I know he didn't last the day, but he got home where he wanted to be Medevac or not...
