Press Release

Issued by .

April 21, 2015

This week AirMed became the first ever European air ambulance operator to successfully apply for and gain CAMTS (Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems) accreditation.

“This is a huge achievement” says David Quayle, chief flight nurse of AirMed who led the accreditation process. “We are one of only two operators situated outside North America who have received this accreditation and on top of that we are one of only four operators worldwide who have achieved dual accreditation from both CAMTS and EURAMI (European Aeromedical Institute)”.

AirMed decided to prepare and apply for CAMTS in 2013. This decision was driven mainly by the U.S. insurance and assistance market which more readily recognises CAMTS accreditation standards. “Following discussions with prospective new U.S based clients, it became clear that there was a growing need that their air ambulance providers had to not only have accreditation, but specifically CAMTS accreditation. We therefore took the decision to start the application process.” Explains Jane Topliss, director of business development.

“One of the major difficulties that we had to face when going through this process is the fact that the CAMTS standards are derived from the U.S. healthcare and aviation regulatory system. Despite the feeling that the UK is closely aligned with the U.S., when it comes to both of these complex areas we are actually more closely aligned with continental Europe” confirms Mr Quayle. “We had to adapt the criteria of each aspect of the CAMTS standards to our UK system in a way that still demonstrated clear compliance”.

CAMTS standards and auditing procedures are extremely rigorous with two auditors examining all of the required documentary evidence and speaking directly to many members of the team over the course of at least two days – they really do leave no stones unturned. Clients and patients can be assured that air ambulance companies which comply really do work to the very highest worldwide standards.

The comprehensive application and auditing process of CAMTS looks at every aspect of a company's operation including aircraft maintenance, flight and ground operations, training across the organisation and, of course, patient management and clinical governance. The company's safety management system is an example of this and an area where AirMed excelled. Unlike the U.S. it has been a legal requirement from an aviation operations perspective in Europe to have a safety management system in place for several years. AirMed's companywide system is extremely advanced and well established and it is upon this risk management system that all company decisions are made; for example, the implementation of multi-crew operations across the entire fleet of aircraft in 2014.

“We are absolutely delighted to have achieved this accreditation. The team work extremely hard every day to ensure that a high quality service is provided to our clients and most importantly to our patients. To be able to have this great teamwork recognised is the perfect tribute to their dedication” concludes Ms Topliss.