Warning of emergency helicopter service restrictions

An internal Department of Defence briefing warned that there would be significant restrictions on emergency helicopter services because the air corps was not in a position to provide the service for four days each month.

The Coast Guard would be tasked with providing “reserve cover” for the stoppages to allow the air corps four months to deal with “HR challenges” and “a reduction in personnel numbers”.

In an internal briefing passed on to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s advisers, the Department of Defence said there would be much more restrictions on where the Coast Guard helicopter could reach.

It explained that Coast Guard helicopters were based along the coast rather than the central location of the air corps in Athlone.

The “shift pattern” in the Coast Guard “can result in lessened availability” during morning periods although the Coast Guard said it would endeavour to provide extra cover on the days the air corps were unavailable.

The briefing said that, unlike the air corps, it was not a dedicated service, was only provided on request, and carried paramedics rather than advanced paramedics.

It said:

“The National Ambulance Service also currently tasks a charity helicopter for [emergency] missions in the south of the country. They have indicated they will also use it where possible further afield but, due to its smaller range, it will have limited utility beyond the midlands.”

Details of why the air corps was forced to stand down the service for four days a month from November 2019 to this February are also outlined. It said that “notwithstanding the well-documented ongoing HR challenges” in the air corps, the emergency service had been provided until now without interruption.

It said the break period was needed to allow for the “overall governance and safety management” of the air corps.

The four days each month in question were days when pilots with Lieutenant Colonel rank were rostered to fly the AW139 helicopter.

The briefing said these pilots were needed in their offices to ensure “supervision and oversight levels in the air corps are maintained”.

They said during the four-month period, there would be a “training surge” to get aircraft commanders ready for emergency helicopter duties from March onwards.

According to the document, both the Department of Health and HSE had “voiced concern” over the interruptions in the service. “It was acknowledged that the Coast Guard did not fully replicate the service provided by the air corps,” it said.

In an email on November 14, Brigadier General Rory O’Connor of the air corps said that it was his intention “to return to full capacity [plus spare] as a matter of urgency”.

However, later internal emails appear to suggest a full return to service may not be absolutely guaranteed by March.