Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca inspects air ambulances at Ankara Esenboğa Aviation Terminal. The officials briefed Dr. Koca about volume, flight capacity and technical characteristics of each air ambulance.
Air ambulances of the Ministry of Health transfer 3-4 patients, and helicopter ambulances transfer 6-7 patients a day. Dr. Koca visited Esenboğa Terminal to see current conditions, medical hardware and capacity of the air ambulances with single, double and quadruple stretchers.
“The aim of this visit was to see the current conditions of our air ambulances, and plan how we can improve the health services delivery” said Dr. Koca in his statement, adding that Turkey is the only country that provides air ambulance services free of charge.
As of 2008 when the air ambulances first started to be used for health services, a total of 13 thousands 398 patients have been transported in air ambulances and 31 thousands 587 patients in helicopter ambulances. For the year 2019, 856 patients were transported in air ambulances and 518 patients were transported in helicopter ambulances by 21 September.
