A new integrated emergency helicopter service will save Tasmanian lives.
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Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the state government had doubled the state's contracted helicopter capacity from one to two on standby.
"Now we're literally taking this lifesaving service to the next level," he said.
Mr Ferguson said an additional $10 million per year would fund the improved service, which would quickly deploy a specialist medical team to emergencies 24-hours a day.
"We are employing dedicated flight paramedics and specialist retrieval doctors as part of this life-saving service, which will also include dedicated resources based at Hobart Airport," he said.
"This allows quicker response times and ensures patients receive high-acuity care from the moment the helicopter lands, rather than having to wait until they arrive at hospital.
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"Having dedicated flight paramedics will also mean an ambulance crew will no longer be taken off the road when the emergency helicopter is called out, because they are on site with the helicopter, ready-to-go."
Mr Ferguson said the new service would dramatically improve response times, with an expected median activation time of 10 minutes for high priority search and rescue.
For medical reponses, there would be an expected improvement of 42 minutes compared to the current service.
"Saving those 42 minutes will save lives," Mr Ferguson said.
Staffing for the service will include 14 additional full-time paramedics, five and a half full-time equivalent specialist retrieval doctors, alongside flight crew members, nurses, and paediatric registrar doctors.
Mr Ferguson said patients needing critical care would soon have access to a dedicated helipad at the Royal Hobart Hospital's new K-BLock, and at the Mersey Community Hospital in the state's North-West.
"This will mean all four hospitals will be connected with helipads, which will significantly reduce transport times and save lives," he said.