Research article

Modelling optimal location for pre-hospital helicopter emergency medical services

Nadine Schuurman¹ , Nathaniel J Bell¹ , Randy L'Heureux² and Syed M Hameed³

¹  Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada

²  British Columbia Ambulance Service, 2261 Keating Road, PO Box 9600 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, BC V8W 91, Canada

³  Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, Trauma Services 855 W 12th Ave, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1M9, Canada

author email corresponding author email

BMC Emergency Medicine 2009, 9:6doi:10.1186/1471-227X-9-6

Published:	9 May 2009

Abstract

Background

Increasing the range and scope of early activation/auto launch helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) may alleviate unnecessary injury mortality that disproportionately affects rural populations. To date, attempts to develop a quantitative framework for the optimal location of HEMS facilities have been absent.

Methods

Our analysis used five years of critical care data from tertiary health care facilities, spatial data on origin of transport and accurate road travel time catchments for tertiary centres. A location optimization model was developed to identify where the expansion of HEMS would cover the greatest population among those currently underserved. The protocol was developed using geographic information systems (GIS) to measure populations, distances and accessibility to services.

Results

Our model determined Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) was the optimal site for an expanded HEMS – based on denominator population, distance to services and historical usage patterns.

Conclusion

GIS based protocols for location of emergency medical resources can provide supportive evidence for allocation decisions – especially when resources are limited. In this study, we were able to demonstrate conclusively that a logical choice exists for location of additional HEMS. This protocol could be extended to location analysis for other emergency and health services.