4 agencies to provide medical flights during FDS suspension

Four enforcement agencies will provide medical flights to remote areas during the temporary suspension of the Flying Doctor Service (FDS) following last week’s helicopter crash in Sarawak, says health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.

They are the police, the fire and rescue department, the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

Dzulkefly said the alternative flights were necessary to ensure that healthcare services for patients in remote areas were not disrupted for too long, Berita Harian reported.

He said the ministry was waiting for the authorities’ findings from a thorough investigation into the crash before deciding on measures to strengthen the safety of the FDS operations and allow the service to resume.

“We will determine the steps needed to strengthen safety (for the FDS operations) once a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the crash concludes,” he said.

“But we cannot delay these services for too long.”

He was speaking to reporters while accompanying the remains of medical officer Dr Ainul Baraah Kamarudin at Masjid Al Karomah near Baung in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan, today.

Ainul, 33, was among the five people killed in the helicopter crash at Long Lellang in Ulu Baram, Sarawak, on Tuesday, following which the FDS operations were temporarily suspended.

Layang-Layang Aerospace grounded its BO-105 helicopters and other aircraft equipped with Rolls-Royce 250 engines following the crash.

The ministry is reviewing all contracts related to the FDS, including helicopter services, following the incident.

The FDS delivers medicines and vaccines through regular visits and carries out medical evacuations for critically ill patients in rural areas.

The service currently covers 97 remote localities in Kapit, Miri and Limbang, many of which are difficult to access and far from adequate road networks.

Visits are generally conducted monthly, although some locations are visited every two months, depending on operational capacity.

Each FDS team typically comprises a doctor, nurses and an assistant medical officer to provide comprehensive care to residents in remote communities.

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