The Ministry of Health Plans to Strengthen Emergency Medical Care Through the Introduction of a Medical Air Transport Service for Critical Patients

Air Ocean Maroc has been awarded the contract for the provision of medical air transport services on behalf of the Ministry of Health, as part of its emergency medical assistance activities, for an amount of 30 million MAD (29,760,000 MAD).

As part of its support for the National Strategy for the Management of Medical Emergencies and Health Risks, the Ministry of Health intends to enhance emergency medical care through the introduction of a medicalized air transport service for critical patients.

This service will ensure both rapid deployment of emergency medical teams and improved transfer times for urgent cases to designated referral hospitals.

Air Missions Are Ordered by the Regional SAMU Regulating Physician

Requests for medical air missions will be made exclusively by the Regional SAMU regulating physician, as explained by the Ministry of Health in the related tender documents. It is the responsibility of this physician to request, when necessary, the classification of the flight as an emergency mission.

The pilot remains solely responsible for assessing the aeronautical feasibility of the flight. A flight register is maintained by the service provider, indicating for each mission, signed by both the pilot and the physician who carried out the mission: the flight number (in chronological order); the classification of the flight specifying the date, departure and return times; and the flight duration expressed in hours and decimal fractions.

The resources to be implemented by the contractor to carry out medical air transport services in accordance with this contract include:

• The provision of a twin-engine aircraft capable of operating under Performance Class 3 standards, with a minimum endurance of four hours, taking into account regulatory fuel reserves and a payload equivalent to two pilots, a two-member medical team, one patient, and 100 kg of equipment;
• The availability of all personnel required to constitute the flight crew;
• Aircraft refueling;
• All elements required under Moroccan regulations regarding maintenance (airworthiness monitoring, PART 145-approved maintenance organization or equivalent, qualified personnel);
• Specific resources necessary for the execution of emergency flights (operations service, certified installations, and approved aircraft configurations).