Palma airport has seven life support units on standby

PALMA airport has made seven life support units available to improve the speed and quality of overall emergency medical care, and in particular to treat those suffering from respiratory and heart conditions.The aim of the investment is to minimise the amount of time needed for the sick to receive urgent treatment, a factor which in the case of resuscitation following a heart attack could prove decisive. The Spanish National Airports Authority (AENA) announced yesterday that a multi-disciplinary workforce would take responsibility for operational control of the life support units. It is to include emergency medical staff, security and maintenance personnel, as well as computing and communications specialists. The units are fitted with a double alarm system, one of which is activated through sensors installed in the doors of the units. When opened, immediate signals are sent to the security and emergency medical service departments. Telephones in both sectors will be triggered into ringing, coded in such a way that staff can provide immediate assistance to the point of the airport from where the alarm has been sounded. Meanwhile, in the Security Control Centre, staff will be similarly alerted as to where to provide instant attention. Doctors and first aid staff will have semi-automatic defibrilators at their disposal, which is state-of-the-art emergency equipment used in the resuscitation of patients who have suffered a heart attack. It instantly monitors the patient's heart rhythm and emits electric shocks accordingly to start the heart pumping, thus cutting down the time staff need to save a patient's life.