Norsk Luftambulanse (NLA) has been awarded a contract for the operation of a new air ambulance base at Evenes, Norway. The National Air Ambulance Service of Norway, locally designated Luftambulansetjenesten ANS, announced the assignment on 18 June.

The new emergency medical operation will be stationed at Harstad / Narvik Airport Evenes, and it will employ a brand new Airbus Helicopters EC 145 T2. The inception date is set for 1 May 2015, and the contract runs until 31 May 2018. The three-year period is shorter than other HEMS contracts in order to harmonize the assignment cycle with the contract periods at the other 11 HEMS stations in the country. The contract is valued at 43 million NOK a year (approx €5,1 million EUR).

– We are extremely pleased to have been awarded this contract. Meanwhile, we are humble because we know that we have competed against two skilled operators in this tender. This is very exciting and we look forward to be working with Health Noth and the National Air Ambulance Service as we will jointly establish and operate this base, said Syver Leivestad, CEO of Norsk Luftambulanse AS.

The new helicopter will be manned by one pilot, a rescue man and an anaesthesiologist. The team will cover the Lofoten region, Vesterålen, Ofoten and Sør-Troms, where the local residents currently have a lower availability of EMS helicopters than other cities in Norway, according to ANS.

The current EMS helicopter stations in Norway are situated in Arendal, Bergen, Brønnøysund, Dombås, Førde, Lørenskog (Oslo), Stavanger, Trondheim, Tromsø, Ål and Ålesund. NLA is operating eight EMS stations and Lufttransport AS is operating the remaining three.

In addition to the new station in Narvik/Evenes Norsk Luftambulanse is also in the process of preparing the newly awarded operation of Denmark’s new nation-wide emergency medical helicopter structure. The company will establish a total of three air ambulance stations in Billund, Ringsted and Skive, starting from 1 October 2014.

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