Helicopter heroes: Patient's life saved as air ambulance market grows in China

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The first patient to be saved by air ambulance in central China’s Hubei Province displayed how helicopters can play an important role in the future of healthcare in the country.

On January 2, a man surnamed Wang in his late thirties was diagnosed with severe chest injuries, putting his life in danger, as the risk grew of a vascular rupture which could have taken his life at any second.

Previously a patient of Shiyan Renmin hospital, he was arranged to transfer to Wuhan Union Hospital on Monday morning to receive emergency surgery, an operation that could only be performed by the latter hospital.

Shiyan City in northwest Hubei is about 450 kilometers away from provincial capital Wuhan, a distance so far that even a bullet train needs four hours to traverse it.

As of 15:05 p.m. Monday afternoon, the emergency helicopter arrived in Shiyan, landing at a local stadium to pick up Wang. The patient was taken on a soul-stirring two-hour trip, during which he almost lost the ability to breathe.

The chopper arrived at Wuhan Union Hospital timely enough at 17:21, and Wang received his surgery soon after. His life was saved, and he is now in an Intensive Care Unit under medical observation.

A transfer via helicopter typically costs between 40-70,000 yuan per hour (5750-10,000 US dollars), according to the aircraft company King Wing Aviation. “This transition may have been free of charge because the program was only launched recently, the price is yet to be decided,” the person in charge of King Wing Aviation said.

China opened up its low-level airspace to civilian aircraft in the middle of 2016, which opened up a great opportunity for the Airbus Group’s helicopter unit in China, whose head Norbert Ducrot has estimated that domestic demand would request over 3,000 emergency air ambulances in China. "By 2025, China will become the most important helicopter market in the world," said Ducrot.