To all our clients, colleagues and friends,
Who can believe that the first quarter of 2010 is over already? 2010 still holds many challenges and great excitement for South Africans, as the world turns their eyes on us for the World Cup Soccer.
Even though 2009 was a year of recession for many, it was one of the busiest years that Air Rescue Africa has ever experienced. It is comforting to know that even during the recession, there is still a lot of activity and opportunity in Africa. Unfortunately, many adventurous companies and individuals do not plan adequately for their health and safety whilst working outside their home countries.
Air Rescue Africa has always moved more patients suffering from medical conditions than trauma and this trend continued in 2009. I would like to highlight two specific categories, namely cardiac and non-trauma neurological, that highlights the need for medical screening and identification risk to prevent evacuations or death.
Within the cardiac category the average patient age was 53 years versus the average age of adults evacuated of 40 years. This is a reminder that age is a definite risk factor in cardiac conditions, therefore there should be a strong emphasis on one’s personal health and well being, especially as one approaches middle age. It is important for companies to do proper health screening in the pre-employment or pre-deployment phase to identify high risk employees and provide adequate monitoring and care to such individuals.
The non-trauma neurological group includes a large number of people suffering from Cerebral Vascular Incidents (strokes), a condition that is often related to other pre-existing medical conditions. This emphasises the need for proper, regular screening and management of high risk employees / individuals.
Of the medical cases (not including cardiac and respiratory problems), one third of the evacuations were as result of Malaria. Please do not underestimate the severity of Malaria in Africa and always take time to ensure that you are taking the needed or recommended prophylaxis.
The graph below illustrates that Southern Africa, which includes Angola, is still the region from where we evacuate most patients. According to The African Report (No 20, December 2009 January 2010), due to political stability, foreign investment and huge oil reserves, Angola has become the top oil producing country in Africa. This would also explain the reason for many medical evacuations coming from that area as many oil companies operate in this area where the medical infrastructure is not up to first world standard.
For the rest of 2010 Air Rescue Africa will continue to strive for excellence, so that you may rest assured knowing that you are receiving a world class service.
Gayle Partridge
Chief Flight Nurse
Air Rescue Africa
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