Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has announced that its air ambulance service, LifeFlight, has been re-accredited by the European Aeromedical Institute (EURAMI) for both adult and paediatric critical care. 

The LifeFlight service provides emergency response medical care to patients in the country when speed is of the highest priority, or when incidents occur in the more remote areas of Qatar. 
Launched in 2007, the LifeFlight service "has become an invaluable part of the Ambulance Service’s overall response mechanisms and currently responds to more than 2,000 emergencies a year", HMC has said in a statement. 
Brendon Morris, executive director of HMC’s Ambulance Service, described the significance of the re-accreditation, which is the result of a successful partnership with the Qatar Amiri Air Force. 


LifeFlight responds to more than 2,000 emergencies a year

“On behalf of all the leadership at the Ambulance Service, I would like to congratulate everyone who contributes, on a daily basis, to the provision of high-quality care through our LifeFlight service. To be re-accredited by EURAMI, after initially receiving accreditation in 2015, is a wonderful independent endorsement of the quality of service we deliver,” said Morris. 
“The operation of the LifeFlight service relies on our strong partnership with the Qatar Emiri Air Force, whose skilled pilots work hand-in-hand with our medical teams to ensure this life-saving service runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” added Morris. 
EURAMI is considered a world leader in aeromedical accreditation and only recognises air ambulance services with the "very highest medical protocols and aviation records", the statement notes. 
HMC’s LifeFlight service has undergone enormous growth since first launching more than 10 years ago. “In the early years of operation, our LifeFlight service was operational only during the daylight hours, but in 2011 we expanded the hours of operation to 24 hours a day,” said Ali Darwish, assistant executive director of the Ambulance Service. 
“In September 2013, we introduced three new helicopters to our LifeFlight fleet. Each of these Agusta Westland 139 helicopters is flown by highly trained pilots from the Qatar Emiri Air Force. They can carry two patients, two medical crew, and two pilots, and are equipped with the latest advanced life support medical equipment,’’ noted al-Darwish.
The Ambulance Service has also been accredited three times by the Joint Commission International for quality and safety as well as by the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch for the high standard of operations at its Medical Communication Centre.