BY MARK McKELVEY

Welcoming the news that Omagh has been named as the central base for an Ireland Air Ambulance helicopter service West Tyrone MLA Dr Kieran Deeny expressed how this adds to efforts for acute and emergency services to be incorporated into the new Omagh Hospital.

This air ambulance service, that will be operational by this time next year, has been described as bringing the hospital to the patient. It will be the first of its kind in Ireland and the 17th air ambulance facility operational in Britain. From its Omagh base it will cover the whole of the North and as far south as Galway if called upon.

Operating 365 days a year, the aircraft works within the "Golden Hour". From a 999 call this fully equipped Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) Air Ambulance will be tasked, airborne and en route in under three minutes with a fully trained trauma doctor and trauma paramedic on board.

It will be officially confirmed in the coming few weeks the exact location for this service, but at present it is thought the leading candidate is the Tyrone County Hospital where a helipad already exists.

Preparations for this have been ongoing since this charity was formed in 2006. All operational costs for the air ambulance will be funded by charitable donations and corporate funding.

The TyroneHerald exclusively revealed these plans on Monday.

Dr Deeny in his capacity as Stormont Health Committee member has been aware of this proposed project for the past year, given this wonderful life-saving service his full support.

"This is part and parcel of 21st century emergency healthcare provision and is happening in every county and I am delighted that this will be hopefully operational by June 2009. These provisions are the future and I have no doubt the whole country will be covered by air ambulance in the next five years," said Dr Deeny.

Speaking to the Herald the operations director for Ireland Air Ambulance, Jerry Carr explained how this service saves lives by bringing the expertise at a hospital to the trauma patient.

He explained, "Ireland Air Ambulance is a HEMS which means it gets involved with emergency situations rather than purely patient transfer. This means if there is for example a serious road traffic accident, the helicopter would be deployed to the scene and is staffed with a fully qualified trauma surgeon and paramedic who would be able to stabilise there before then being taken to hospital.

"It is basically bringing A&E to the patient as opposed to the other way around. But it is not simply about the speed of service this facility offers, it is also about the quality of care, as by bringing the expertise to you with the necessary equipment onboard, we are more able to deal with most situations."

Due to its centralised location Omagh has been described as the perfect place for this emergency helicopter to be based, even though originally it was going to be in Antrim.

Jerry explained, "The reason why we have chosen Omagh is partly by accident and partly by design.

"Originally the proposed base was Aldergrove but as we are about 11 months ahead of schedule, they will not be ready for us as their dates are going in the other direction.

"The reason therefore Omagh looks good for our base is because it is absolutely perfect to where it is in relation to the area that we will be covering right across the region, including the border counties of Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan.

"Omagh will be the base that we will be deployed from every morning, but if we have a scenario that we have to take someone to the Royal in Belfast, we would then wait there for the next call, before always returning to Omagh that evening.

"Our initial plans was to have this operational by spring 2010. As we are a charity and this is funding by pubic donations and business support we wanted to ensure we had enough finances to ensure the sustainability of this service.

"This fundraising has been going really well which has now brought our plans forward to summer next year, which is a clear illustration that the public here want this to happen."

Ireland Air Ambulance is currently seeking 1000 volunteers to assist with its fundraising efforts.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or making a donation you can contact Jerry at 08702004050 or via their website wwwirelandairambulance.org