More than 11 thousand people, including about 2 thousand children, were saved by the Russian National Sanitary Aviation Service (NSSA) in 2023. This is 30 per cent more than a year earlier. The service area has also expanded – it now covers 67 Russian regions, up from 51 in 2022. Sanitary aviation transports people from hard-to-reach places to regional hospitals and federal medical centres and provides emergency medical assistance.
The National Air Ambulance Service was established in 2018. As a unified air ambulance operator it has been working since 2019. NSSA is the most important social project for Russia. It provides for the creation of a fleet of air ambulance helicopters, 130 aircraft basing points, a refuelling network, and helipads at the territories of healthcare facilities across the country.
The NCCA air fleet comprises 68 helicopters, including forty Ansats and 28 Mi-8s. All helicopters are equipped with modern resuscitation equipment, including ventilators and pacemakers. In 2023, the NCCA plans to purchase 12 more Ansat helicopters to increase coverage of the regions and improve accessibility of medical care for residents of remote areas. The main patients of the service are patients with strokes, heart attacks, trauma, pregnant women with pathologies, children and road accident victims.
“NCCA has been operating as a single air ambulance operator for five years. During this time, we have expanded the geography of routes to 67 regions of Russia and saved more than 30,000 people,”
noted Oleg Korol, Deputy Director General of NCCA, Chief Pilot.
Air ambulance crews are on duty 24 hours a day, which allows for rapid departures to transport heavy patients. This is an important point, as doctors have a well-known rule of “golden hour”, during which medical assistance is most effective. Thanks to the work of the NCCA, thousands of people have been able to receive the necessary assistance and return to normal life.
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