Smart partnership aims to save lives

A smart partnership agreement between the Prosperity Group subsidiary E-Med Rescue 24 and the aviation giant Westair for operational and maintenance support on the three E-Med air ambulance aircraft will boost the delivery of emergency air evacuation services in Namibia.

According to Prosperity Group’s Managing Director Kobus Struwig, E-Med Rescue 24 and Westair Wings Charters recently concluded an agreement with regards to the operation and maintenance of E-Med’s air ambulance aircraft.

“The ultimategoal of this smart partnership is to save lives.”

E-Med Rescue’s aviation assets consist of a Cessna Conquest II (441), a King Air E90 and a Cessna 402C – all of which are 100 percent dedicated to provide air ambulance services within Namibia and to provide safe, fast and effective cross border flights when required.

The Cessna Conquest II and King Air E90 are both pressurised and primarily used for critically ill patients or long haul flights for example to Cape Town or Johannesburg, whilst the unpressurised Cessna 402C is activated in the event of short distance flights or to destinations which have only rudimentary landing strips.

“What really excites me”, says Struwig, “is not only the mutually beneficial partnership between the two organisations but also the improvement in safety standards.

“The partnership brings about the focus of expertise, meaning E-Med Rescue 24 can focus on its expertise of para-medical services and the saving of lives.

“Westair Aviation on the other hand can do what they have been doing best for the past several decades and that is to focus on the operational requirements of the crew as well as the aircraft operation and maintenance in general,” he says.

This wholly owned Namibian partnership will guarantee improved and speed response times in cases of medical emergencies that necessitate air evacuations for the benefit of the end-user.

Adds Struwig: “The rationale behind the partnership between E-Med Rescue 24 and Westair was to a large extent influenced by two market factors, one being the fact that flight operations have become so specialised that only the best operators will be able to keep up with the recent changes made to aviation legislation. S econdly the large numbers of evacuation flights performed by E-Med Rescue 24 per annum have dictated a more focused approach on the part of the E-Med specialists.”

Westair’s Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Grellmann has confirmed that stricter operating procedures have been introduced with regards to safety and maintenance in the wake of the recent aviation accidents experienced in Namibia.

As the largest aviation player in the market, the Westair partnership was an ideal fit, says Kobus Struwig.

“Although adherence to new regulations and safety were crucial criteria for the partnership, we also needed a partner that could cope with the number of flights E-Med performs annually.”

Westair Aviation has dedicated five full-time pilots to the operations and can further co-opt pilots on an ad hoc basis from its pool of 25 suitably qualified pilots.

“These full-time pilots are all commanders on the DHL freight operation. This operation has been carried out with a dispatch reliability of 98 percent over the past 14 years which is indeed a remarkable statistic,” says Grellmann.

“To achieve dispatch reliability to the E-Med Rescue 24 operation, additional aircraft can be made available from the Westair aircraft pool. No other company in Namibia has acquired this depth of experience and resources.”

According to Struwig E-Med Rescue 24 last year carried out 344 emergency evacuation flights.

“This is a good indication of our abilities in view of the complexities involved in managing and coordinating each individual aircraft to achieve optimal performance without jeopardising quality and safety.”

The smart partnership is not only mutually beneficial for the two organisations but also improves the safety standards.