Taipei airport a medical evacuation hub: official

HEALTH CONCERNS: Critics say that Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s plan for Songshan airport would make medical evacuations from outlying islands more difficult

• By Wu Liang-yi and Ho Yu-hau / Staff reporters Staff reporters

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There are about 300 medical evacuation cases from outlying islands each year, so if Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) proposal of removing Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) proceeds, people in Kinmen County would be most heavily affected, a Ministry of Health and Welfare official said yesterday.

MAYOR’S PLAN

Chiang, who is seeking re-election, earlier this month proposed a plan to replace Songshan airport with an artificial intelligence (AI) park, which drew concerns that medical evacuations for people from outlying islands would become difficult.

Medical personnel attend to a patient arriving at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) via helicopter in an undated photograph.

Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times

Department of Nursing and Health Care Deputy Director-General Chen Ching-mei (陳青梅) said that the craft used for medical evacuations from the outlying counties of Kinmen, Lienchiang and Penghu vary.

In Kinmen, fixed-wing aircraft are used for medical evacuations, whereas Penghu and Lienchiang mainly rely on helicopters, she said.

Most of the evacuations are people with cardiovascular diseases or severe acute illnesses, she added.

People from outlying islands who need to receive emergency medical care are usually flown to Songshan airport, Chen said.

ALTERNATIVES

Separately yesterday, Chiang’s campaign spokesman Chen Po-hsiung (陳柏翰) defended the mayor’s proposal, including his remarks that high-speed rail is one of the transportation options that people evacuated from outlying islands can use to transfer to hospitals after arriving in Taiwan proper by plane.

High-speed rail is by no means intended to replace emergency medical air evacuation, Chen said.

Chiang has outlined a clear plan for medical evacuation following the proposed removal of the airport, which includes preserving operational space for helicopters, he added.