Excellence in Leadership Ground to Air Radio Communications in Remote Areas

NSW Ambulance

Team: Cameron Edgar

A Review of Ground to Air Radio Communications in Remote Areas was established to identify safe and practical ways to improve radio communications between NSW Ambulance ground and helicopter teams, particularly when winching. This operational improvement initiative was initiated by aeromedical leadership and had clear objectives to ensure the innovation was focused and purposeful to the needs of NSW Ambulance.

NSW Ambulance offers emergency medical response to an area spanning more than 800,000sq kilometres. Within this expansive environment aeromedical services completed more than 13,200 missions in 2021-2022 which included 5,783 fixed wing missions, 4,677 helicopter missions, 2,822 aeromedical road retrievals, 169 winch missions and 59 flood rescues.

In these diverse and challenging response situations, innovating improvements to our operational protocols and work practices fulfills the corporate commitment of offering the right care to the right patient at the right time as well as putting staff and patient safety at the centre of everything we do.

In response to this challenge and to improve safety and workability for our radio communications with crews, NSW Ambulance has applied improvements to our radio communications which greatly enhances operational function and safety.

We have:

• updated all our radio channels in our aircraft as a rapid update

• updated command and control checklists to include increased guidance for communicating in remote areas.

• tested a range of hand signals and hi-visibility gloves that will now be taught and issued to all specialist ground teams

• created a Statewide Telecommunications Group with subject matter experts that specifically looks at remote area communications and new technology.

• drafted a new Remote Area Radio Communications Procedure that will set a new standard and be a benchmark for training and education in remote area communications.

Excellence in leadership has been achieved by identifying and addressing risk, implementing improved operational protocols which improve radio communications in remote areas and linking these improvements directly to improved service delivery in remote situations alongside caring for our people through improved safety for staff and patients.