We're positioning an aircraft in Liberia in the coming weeks to provide aero-medical evacuation (AME) and general aviation services after the deadliest ever outbreak of Ebola across the region.
The turboprop Beechcraft Corporation 1900C (B1900) will be based in the Liberian capital Monrovia, and will provide services to West Africa, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. The general aviation services and aero-medical evacuation capability are critical factors in assisting the region to return to normal, and attracting investment and companies back to the region following the unprecedented outbreak.
“Whilst Liberia and other West African nations re-build their public health systems, it is imperative that we provide our customers with medical care from the point of injury through to definitive care and that means aero-medical evacuation,” said Glenn Keys AO, Executive Chairman and Founder of Aspen Medical. “Offering AME services is a natural extension of our clinic in Monrovia and our broader services across North West Africa,” he added.
The B1900 is able to ferry up to four stretchered patients, 19 passengers or up to 2,880 kg in cargo and is configurable to support critical AME using world class Spectrum advanced life support equipment.
Our clinic in Monrovia opened in early 2014 and played a crucial role in combatting Ebola in the city by providing support to the public health system. In the past weeks Dr Philip Ireland, one of the clinic’s senior medical team, was awarded Liberia’s highest civilian honour and named a Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of Africa for his work during the outbreak.
Aspen Medical was one of the only organisations in the world to be contracted by three separate countries to deliver their Ebola response. The company managed the Australian Government’s Ebola Treatment Centre in Sierra Leone from mid-December 2014 until the end of April 2015. The company also managed four Ebola Treatment Units in Liberia on behalf of the US Government in Liberia.
Our team continues to play a crucial role in Sierra Leone where we manages the Kerry Town Treatment Unit on behalf of the UK Government as well as providing support to the laboratory run by Public Health England.
To date 11,298 people have died as a result of the Ebola outbreak which began in Guinea in December 2013. Liberia has been the worst affected country with 4,808 deaths to date. After a period of 42 days with no new infections Liberia was declared Ebola-free in May but a re-emergence of infections some weeks later saw that status revoked.