FinnHEMS, which is responsible for nationwide medical helicopter operations in Finland, the Southern Ostrobothnia Hospital District and the Pirkanmaa Hospital District have begun joint planning and work to establish a helicopter base in Seinajoki. The goal is to start operations by the end of 2022.

“We are working together and separately to open the base. The construction of the base's building, the recruitment and training of first aid and flight personnel, as well as the acquisition of equipment are ahead of the project as large entities,” remarks Jari Huhtinen, CEO of FinnHEMS.

The base will be built in the area of ​​Seinajoki airport in Ilmajoki's Rengonharju. FinnHEMS has acquired a plot of land that enables smooth flight operations and is also functional for road traffic. Permission to build was granted last year.

After the ongoing architectural design, FinnHEMS will launch a tender for the builder of the base building during the spring. The building will have similar functions to its base in Kuopio, which opened in 2019. The building will consist of crew quarters and a helicopter hangar. In addition to on-call and rest areas, the crew compartment will also have training and office facilities as well as warehouses. The design of the premises takes into account the special nature of the operations and the needs of the on-call work, among other things, to guarantee restorative rest. The medical helicopter base will be operational around the clock.

“When the medical helicopter operation starts, the whole of Ostrobothnia will bring a patient to the site to help the team, which is familiar with the care and transport of emergency patients. The unit is also intensifying regional co-operation,” says Heini Elo, chief physician of emergency care in the Southern Ostrobothnia Hospital District.

There is already a medical unit in the Southern Ostrobothnia Hospital District moving along the country in Seinajoki, which is on standby every day from 08:00 to 20:00. When the base begins operations, the medical unit will merge with it. However, the primary purpose of the helicopter service is not to transport the patient, but to get the paramedic as quickly as possible to the patient.

A minimum of 15 to 20 people are needed to run the base including paramedics, pilots and flight assistants (HCMs) and maintenance professionals. All those working at the base are trained in HEMS or medical helicopter operations. FinnHEMS and the hospital districts will do the personnel planning for the base and prepare for staff recruitment and training. The start of recruitment will be announced later.

FinnHEMS has six bases in Finland, located in Vantaa, Turku, Tampere, Kuopio, Oulu and Rovaniemi and operates a fleet of EC135s.