Medical transportation and the contribution of air medical evacuation in isolated mountainous areas of Greece — Case study, Municipality of Agrafa

In every emergency medical situation, access to emergency medical services is an inalienable right of any citizen. The average acceptable time to provide first aid assistance is 60 minutes. In this paper, the possibility of using helicopters for air travel in mountainous areas was examined for the first time for all of Greece and especially for a mountainous and isolated area such as the Municipality of Agrafa. Initially, the time distance — virtual distance, from the hospitals was calculated at the national level of Greece, with an acceptable first contact time of 60 minutes (golden hour), i.e., less than two hours from the nearest hospital to the incident and back to the hospital and the relevant conclusions are drawn. Then, the case study of Municipality of Agrafa, one of the most mountainous areas in Greece, was examined. The time distance of the settlements from the nearest primary health point, namely the Primary Health Centre (PHC) of West Fragkista, was calculated and the transportation by ground means was compared with the corresponding time by flying means, to investigate the contribution of air transportation or not, of the timely arrival of the patients in the appropriate health structure. Finally, possible helicopter landing locations were identified, using a geographic information system to facilitate the process of air medical transportation in the Municipality of Agrafa.