Information for Visiting Doctors and Paramedics

TT Immediate Care Cases

TT Helicopter Ambulance

Contact Us

As you would expect, rapid provision of expert pre-hospital immediate care is at the top of everyone’s agenda at TT Course events.

Two Rescue helicopter ambulances - AIR-RED and AIR-BLUE are used during TT and MGP Practice weeks and race days.

They are both special ambulance-fit French Eurocopoter twin Squirrels from Atlas Helicopters arranged by the Department of Tourism and Leisure's helicopter liaison officer, Kit Pemberton.

During the TT, they are based on the Vagabonds rugby pitch next to the Police Station on Glencrutchery Road in Douglas. They have special dispensation from Isle of Man Air Traffic Control to enable them to fly using the most direct route to and from an emergency and they are in constant TETRA radio communication with Race Control, based in the TT Grandstand.

If there is an incident around the course, then the marshals at the scene immediately call a dedicated emergency phone number which puts them straight through to the duty Medical Officer in Race Control or more likely these days, they press the orange emergency button on their TETRA radio.  The aircraft nearest to the incident is told to scramble and head for the scene and a Travelling Marshal is also dispatched. If the Travelling Marshal or a medic at the scene do not think the casualty is in need of helicopter transfer to Hospital for a check-up, then they inform Race Control who issue a “stand-down” request. The helicopter can then return to its original base.

Each aircraft carries a doctor, usually an A&E or Anaesthetic Consultant and a paramedic. There is nearly £20,000 of medical equipment on board each aircraft for advanced life support prior to and during evacuation. Each helicopter can carry two casualties on scoop stretchers, one above the other, on the left hand side of the pilot.

The helicopters which have a top speed of 150mph, take an average time of about 5 to 6 minutes from the first radio alert to arrive at the scene of an incident. The average time spent on the ground stabilising the casualty and loading them into the aircraft is well within the Platinum 10 minutes. The aircraft then flies the casualty to one of the Hospital's 3 helipads where they are met by one of the ambulances from the Hogg Motorsport Association, unloaded and taken to the resuscitation room of Nobles’ Accident and Emergency department. The average time  from when the casualty falls off to arriving in Hospital is under 20minutes !!!

You've heard of the "Golden Hour" and the "Platinum 10 minutes", well as the Isle of Man is so near Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, we aim for the "Uranium 5 minutes" .....aiming to try and transport the definitive medical expertise on board, to an incident in under 5 minutes

 Equipment carried in each Helicopter Ambulance

First Response Bag which contains:
Oral and nasopharyngeal airways.
Ventilation bag with oxygen reservoir and masks.
Portable multiflow lightwieight oxygen cylinders with 100% masks.
Numerous ambulance dressings, bandages and cervical splints.
Everything required for intubation including fibre optic laryngoscope.
Laryngeal mask airways
Basic fluid IV infusion requirements.
Ring Cutter.

Laerdal Suction Unit with Yankauer suction mounts and catheters.

Intubation Bag containing full intubation kit , laryngeal mask airways and all items for RSI. Mini-Trach II and Cooks pneumothorax sets and Portex emergency chest drains.

Injection Bag with a full range of IMS mini jet syringes, all emergency drugs, needles and syringes including a cardiac arrest drug box.

Infusion Bag with Gelofusine, glucose, saline, giving sets, IV cannulae etc.

Burns Pack with Waterjel burns dressings, burn bags, burn dressings and towels, saline, Flamazine and Release dressings.

Each aircraft also carries:
Entonox inhalational analgesia units.
Microvent ventilator/resuscitator.
2 Loxley box splints.
Two bags of Velcro Fracstraps.
Pack of Inflatable splints.
Spare Stifnek Select cervical splints
A Laerdal Heartstart AED defibrillator.
A pulse oximeter.
Heine diagnostic set (ophthalmoscope etc).
Disposible plastic zipped body bags.
2 orthopaedic scoop stretchers, small pillows, red head rests and several sets of stretcher straps.
2 x 10lb dry power fire extinguishers (to replace those used at an incident).
2 x TT Course Immediate Care Cases (to replace those used at an incident).

Equipment carried by each Travelling Marshal

Three pairs of medium latex free disposable gloves.
Two Guedel oropharyngeal airways, No 3 & 4.
Two Nasopharyngeal airways, No 6 & 8.
One resuscitation pocket mask.
One Stifneck Select cervical splint.
One pair 8” Lister bandage scissors.
One pair of Tufcut scissors.
One scalpel blade and handle.
Two No. 4 Ambulance dressings.
Two 20cm x 20cm dressing pads
One roll of 2.5cm Transpore tape.
One roll of 7.5cm Elastoplast.
One adult emergency foil blanket.
Two 10cm crepe bandages.
Three triangular bandages.
Six sterile alcohol wipes.
Plastic bag of assorted plasters with two large 10cm x 10cm Release dressings.
Two sachets of Sterets Unisept (chlorhexidine) (100mls each).
Two sets of scoop stretcher restraining straps (to keep the riders arms and legs in).