The Regional Secretary for Health spoke at the delivery of a new Immediate Life Support (ILS) vehicle in Angra do Heroísmo, stressing that this investment will ensure "increased safety for the rescue of populations, which is our main mission, and also for health professionals."
With the recent 90-thousand Euro investment in three vehicles, the Azores now have eight ILS vehicles, improving and expanding the fleet to ensure that “we are always prepared to help the people,” said Teresa Machado Luciano.
One of the three new SIV vehicles was delivered in Ponta Delgada at the end of 2019 and the third will be delivered in Ribeira Grande, whose rescue means will be reinforced later this month.
As part of the investments already made, the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service (SRPCBA) purchased last year two vital signs monitors for 50 thousand Euros, thereby increasing to eight the number of vehicles equipped with these resources.
In 2019, the ILS vehicles were activated 2,971 times: 1,183 in Ponta Delgada, which recorded the highest number of interventions, and 852 on the island of Terceira.
The ILS service, created in 2012, currently covers 12 municipalities on the islands of S. Miguel, Terceira, Faial and Pico, with a total of 114 professionals, including nurses and ambulance crews. Among them, 25 operate on the island of Terceira.
On the sidelines of the vehicle delivery ceremony at the Santo Espírito Hospital on Terceira Island, Teresa Machado Luciano stated that the island of Pico registers an "optimised situation," with its ILS vehicle in full operation.
Regarding the improvement works at the Lajes do Pico Health Centre and following the identification of vulnerabilities in the roof support structure, the government official announced that "the Government will launch a tender for the replacement of the roof and then continue with the work in progress, always for the safety and benefit of the population."
Immediate Life Support aims to ensure the rapid transportation of a multidisciplinary team to the patient's location in order to provide health care for pre-hospital stabilisation.
This service also provides medical follow-up during the transport of critical patients, whether victims of accidents or sudden illness, in emergency situations.