Air ambulances: Speed matters

National alliance of hospitals provides wide coverage when lives are at stake

The first national alliance of hospitals providing air ambulance services took off on Sunday, covering vast regions in eight provinces with swift evacuations for people from remote rural areas to clogged city streets.

Air ambulances have become a key supplement in medical emergencies to save lives despite congestion or remote location, leading to the growth of such services in China, said Wang Jian'an, head of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine.