Gulf Med Aviation Services (GMAS) held training this week for five members of the internal security and response team at Gozo General Hospital. The aim is to prepare these professionals to act during GMAS helicopter operations at the hospital’s helipad. This is the helicopter that provides the air ambulance service between Gozo General Hospital and the main island of Malta. 

The presence of this team at the helipad is an integral part of the operation. Whenever the helicopter lands or takes off to transport patients, the team is on site and ready to provide a first response should the need arise. 

Landing and taking off are always demanding phases of flight, which require constant attention to safety. The hospital staff already have basic training, and this initiative seeks to strengthen their knowledge of the specifics of our operation: the location, the type of helicopter used and the way we work. It should be noted that Gozo General Hospital has a new helipad, built recently.  

“Every helipad has its own particularities, just as every aircraft does. The better those on the ground know the helicopter and the specific needs of this type of operation, the safer we all are, aircrew and ground teams alike,” says Markus Kluger, a GMAS pilot. With 22 years of experience as a pilot and around 10 with the company, the German pilot considers that initiatives of this kind, which also reflect the link between GMAS and Gozo General Hospital, are “very important and necessary”. 

An air ambulance service depends on several teams working in step, inside and outside the helicopter. Markus highlights the “importance of inter-institutional work between GMAS and the hospital, which helps to raise safety standards in operations aimed at saving lives”.  

“The safety of a mission does not depend only on whoever is at the controls. It depends on the relationship between the crew and the teams that receive us on the ground. Training together builds trust,” says the pilot. Pilots, Technical Crew Members, doctors, nurses and ground security staff, among others, take part in the operations carried out in Malta, and each of them has a role to play in safety. 

Safety is one of GMAS’s key values. Recently, another group of 4 professionals from the Hospital had received this type of training. Investing in the preparation of those who work with us, including partner organisations, is one of the ways we live it every day. 

About Gulf Med Aviation Services 

Gulf Med Aviation Services (GMAS) was founded in 2016 and is part of the Medilink International group. It provides Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) in Portugal and Ireland, and air ambulance services in Malta and Spain. In every country where it operates, the mission is the same: to support those who need urgent medical assistance, with Safety as one of its permanent priorities.