The first six months of the year were a busy time for the crews of German aeromedical provider DRF Luftrettung's helicopters and air ambulances: they were called upon 18,356 times to provide rapid medical assistance to severely ill or injured people. In the past few weeks, the crews have already noticed an increase in the number of call-outs related to swimming accidents. They rely on the cooperation of bathers and therefore appeal to them to exit the water as quickly as possible whenever a helicopter is approaching.

The water rescue organisation fears that this year will see even more problems and incidents than in the 2020 season. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many people are planning holidays in Germany, which often means excursions to unsupervised rivers and lakes.

In total, DRF Luftrettung crews were called out to 13,927 emergencies and 4,334 intensive care transfers in the first half of 2021. What's more, its Learjet 35 ambulance aircraft carried out 95 deployments in 35 countries worldwide.

During the first half of the year, the most common call-outs for DRF Luftrettung involved patients with cardiac illness such as heart attacks (20 per cent) and neurological emergencies (17 per cent). These were followed by accident victims due to falls (11 per cent) and traffic accidents (10 per cent). The organisation's crews offer unparalleled speed, especially in emergencies; they can reach scenes within a 60-km radius in a flight time of 15 minutes or less. The crews of its 11 24-hour bases nationwide were also frequently needed during the night; here, some 20 per cent of the crews' call-outs in the first half of the year took place during night-time hours. Several years ago, the air ambulance organisation put in place special procedures for approaching emergency scenes at night, including the deployment of two pilots with instrument rating and night-vision goggles. The three winch bases in Bautzen, Freiburg and Nuremberg (Christoph 27) also had plenty to do, recording 51 winch call-outs in the first six months of 2021.

The charitable organisation's ethos also includes the development and improvement of its work for the benefit of patients. In March, for instance, the country's first H145 rescue helicopter with a five-blade rotor went into operation at DRF's Stuttgart base. The aircraft arrived at the DRF Luftrettung maintenance facility back in December 2020, where it was equipped for routine operation. In May, the world's first-ever H145 retrofit was then put into operation. The aircraft underwent a conversion from four rotor blades to five and is now flying from the Villingen-Schwenningen base under the name Christoph 11. Just a few days ago, the third five-blade helicopter, Christoph Niedersachsen, was commissioned in Hannover. The organisation also remains committed to progress in the field of emergency medicine: in March 2021, Christoph Regensburg became the third DRF Luftrettung helicopter to routinely carry blood and plasma reserves on its call-outs, making it possible to help critically ill patients more quickly and effectively.