Emergency Medical Retrieval Service

The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) provides aeromedical critical care to people in Scotland. It provides patients in remote and rural areas with rapid access to the skills of a consultant in emergency or intensive care medicine as well as facilitating transfers to larger, better equipped city hospitals. The team is available 24 hours a day with services` provided in partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service utilising both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The service began operating in the West of Scotland in 2004 and has provided a national service since 2010. The EMRS now operate as part of ScotSTAR, the Scottish national retrieval service, sharing a bespoke base at Glasgow Airport.

History

The EMRS was formed in 2004 when NHS Argyll and Clyde approved a twelve month trial which involved 11 consultants in emergency or intensive care medicine. The EMRS were initially based at Glasgow City Heliport and operated only in the Argyll and Clyde area. Over the first 12 months the EMRS attended 40 patients.