28-Oct-2024 Source: HeliHub.com
Local news website Bulawayo24 has provided some insight on the first six weeks of the new air ambulance service from when it started on 24th August, some 15 months after the launch announcement of the helicopters arriving in Zimbabwe. The landmark initial mission was to transfer a cardiac arrest patient from Chegutu District Hospital in Mashonaland West to Sally Mugabe Central Hospital in Harare.
Those initial six weeks saw 67 patients airlifted, including 21 under the age of 17. Of these, 16 were infants, three aged 6 to 12, and two between 12 and 17. In the adult age groups, 43 patients were between 18 and 64, and a further three were over 65 years old. To give some perspective, official WHO stats show the country’s life expectancy at birth has improved from 46.6 years in 2000 to 58.5 years in 2021.
Figures provided in the Bulawayo24 article also suggest the majority of flights are transfers from outlying hospitals to more specialised medical centres with the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and Sally Mugabe Central Hospital, along with Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital, the principal recipients. Sending hospitals were listed as Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital with 16 airlifts, followed by Concession District Hospital (15), Chegutu (12), and Bindura Provincial Hospital with 10.
As a reminder, this is a national network involving six Kazan Ansat helicopters, and is fully funded by the Zimbabwe Government. The helicopters are operated by a new subsidiary of Russian operator HeliDrive from four bases at Harare, Bulawayo, Mutate and Victoria Falls.
A July report by the Zimbabwe Sunday Mail interviewed the Chief Pilot of this operation, named as the Russian-born Vadim Bagabov.
HeliDrive is training local professionals to run the service, including 40 pilots, 40 doctors, 50 nurses, 10 dispatchers, and 10 engineers currently undergoing training. The article goes on to say that the Russian operator has also supplied helicopters which will be deployed in the tourism sector. Given the helicopters are all in the very same colour scheme as those operated in Russia, we are seeking clarity on whether these aircraft were donated or loaned. They all carry local Zimbabwe registrations.
See also our May 2023 analysis of the reported purchase of 32 Ansat helicopters