Champions in Safety. Champions in Care.
What’s the Word in HEMS Safety?
In most industries, the hazards are tangible; inadequate equipment, protective gear failure, inadequate training, or improper practices.
In HEMS, the major hazard is intangible: situational assessment and decision-making, and the support or lack of support by those not at risk, for decision-making by those on the mission. And because it’s intangible, that makes it seem, somehow, less valid or real. But it’s real when we hit the ground.
You don’t need to be eloquent, confident, angry, apologetic, or persuasive. You are the air crew member. You just need to say, “No. I don’t think that’s safe.” Practice this at home. Practice saying it out loud at work, just to stay ready and sharp. Practice it the same way you practice intubation, and IV starts, and drug calculations, and emergency aircraft shutdowns.
The single most important missing factor in avoiding fatal HEMS incidents is the failure of HEMS professionals to say, “No. I don’t think that’s safe.” That STATEMENT is a Workplace Safety Practice, abundantly protected, and a required survival practice for you, your colleagues, and the HEMS industry.
You are the authority on your safety. No one outranks you, and no one can override that statement. And it is just as valid, reportable, and protected from retaliation as dealing with a drunk logging crane operator, or a leak on an offshore vessel, or a faulty air hose on an underwater construction site. There’s one major difference, though: our business is more lethal than logging, fishing, or diving.
The sub-menu links to resources and recourse under “Reporting and Retaliation” will be a major focus of CHAMP site development. Check back frequently as we add content and links to empower you to say –
“No. I don’t think that’s safe.”
What’s the word in HEMS safety? The word is “No.”
CHAMP 