Rescue from the air: Christoph Dortmund now ready for use around the clock!

On January 1, 2025, the intensive transport helicopter "Christoph Dortmund" of the DRF air rescue will be ready for use around the clock. The DRF air rescue was awarded the contract from the city of Dortmund to run this helicopter for the next ten years. With this changeover to 24-hour operation, the H145 type, which is equipped with a five-leaf rotor and is suitable for nightly inserts, is used.

On the evening of January 1, 2025, "Christoph Dortmund" was already alerted for the first night. The helicopter transports patients to the BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil to Bochum. This makes "Christoph Dortmund" the second helicopter in North Rhine-Westphalia, which can also be alerted for life-saving operations at night. The DRF air rescue also requires a needs -based expansion of the air rescue in the night.

crew and possible uses

The DRF air rescue operates a total of thirteen helicopter stations in Germany, which are available around the clock. During the day, the crew consists of a pilot, an emergency doctor and an emergency medic; On the other hand, two pilots are in use at night. The helicopter is used for urgent transports of intensive care patients and as an emergency doctor. The crew regularly carries out medically demanding transports, also with special devices such as an incubator or a mobile heart lung machine (ECMO).

In addition to air rescue, the DRF air rescue is getting more and more support from mobile ultrasound devices, which are also known as sonography devices. These support emergency doctors and emergency medic in the decision. The possible uses include the determination of medical measures at the site, the selection of the optimal target clinic for further treatment and the choice of suitable means of transport.

This mobile ultrasound diagnostics are brought directly to the emergency patient and enables, for example, examinations in the heart area of ​​the chest or vessels in the stomach. The device has two differently shaped sound heads that are suitable for flat and deeper parts of the body. An example of an application scenario would be after a serious traffic accident, in which suspicion of internal bleeding with the mobile sonography device at the scene of the accident can be quickly clarified. The information about the patient's condition is immediately passed on to the doctors in the shock room of the target clinic.