With a formalized performance mandate, the health department of the canton of St.Gallen is strengthening its longstanding, proven cooperation in the field of air rescue and preclinical emergency care with the Swiss air rescue service Rega. The aim of the agreement is to provide the population of the canton of St.Gallen with air rescue services in the event of emergencies, and accordingly includes all air rescue operations and all urgent transfer flights to and from cantonal hospitals throughout the canton.
The long-term service agreement stipulates what has been successfully practiced within the existing cooperation for decades: Rega operates a helicopter base in the canton of St.Gallen and thus ensures air rescue in the canton around the clock, 365 days a year. The agreement also stipulates that all air rescue devices in the canton are coordinated by Rega’s operations center, which ensures that the next and best air rescue device is always used. This agreement does not incur any costs for the canton of St.Gallen: Rega provides its services as part of its foundation mandate. The regional president and head of the health department of the canton of St.Gallen, Heidi Hanselmann, is convinced:

Rega firmly anchored in the canton of St.Gallen
The canton of St.Gallen and Rega can look back on a long and successful history: In 1981, Rega stationed a Rega helicopter at the St.Gallen Children’s Hospital for the first time, and in 1984 the current operational base was built in Winkeln near Gossau. In the canton of St.Gallen, the rescue helicopters perform around 2,900 air rescue flights per year and transport almost 1,000 patients to the cantonal hospital in St.Gallen for further treatment after emergencies. Rega is also firmly anchored in the population: over 230,000 people, almost half of the inhabitants of the canton of St.Gallen, support Rega with their annual donation.