From Sh500, you can now secure chopper rescue during emergencies

ResQMed, a medical evacuation firm, says the recent landslide tragedy in West Pokot brought out the worst in the country’s disaster management, with the State forced to use two dilapidated choppers to make evacuations when it could hire better ones. ResQMed Director Devansh Khanna explains the firm’s operations in an interview with Financial Standard. Below are the excerpts.

What is ‘ResQMed’?

ResQMed is a total rescue cover involving helicopters, with a medical evacuation service provided by us.  It is a comprehensive medical service that will include roads, bridges and highways.

If you get into a pile-up on Lang’ata or Mombasa roads and are under our cover, one of our choppers will evacuate you to a hospital. This is a first for Kenya.

How much does it cost to take this insurance cover?

We offer covers beginning from just Sh500.

Really? If I give you Sh500 right now, and I get trapped in a water-walled ridge in West Pokot, I will be on the ResQMed chopper cover and can call for rescue?

There are various arrays of products in the ResQmed cover which starts from Sh500 with basic consultation services. We saw a few helicopters over in West Pokot during the recent landslides.

ResQmed would be personalised, and the State can also hold a cover on behalf of citizens so the aircraft is available in times of great national emergencies like the West Pokot avalanches.

What does a cover entail?

The cover starts with basic road evacuation. Air evacuation by fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter and then a comprehensive package that includes both outpatient and inpatient coverage.

How does it work, in the unlikely event of an accident?

Once the customer purchases the cover, in the unfortunate event of an accident, a single phone call – or ‘panic button’ App if the person is too incapacitated to call – will either go to our Call Centre or the application will activate the pick-up.

Our pilot(s) will fly the chopper to the scene of the incident with medical personnel for First Aid and stabilisation, and the patient will be delivered to the nearest medical facility for treatment.

What are ResQMed’s cover benefits?

We are the only ones already offering point to point evacuation with a helicopter-based medivac. This is called Heli-evacuation.

Who can access this scheme?

ResQMed is in talks with insurance firms to make this product part of their packages.

We have concluded a deal with AON Minet Insurance for the broking services, which will be followed by the scheme administration. We launched it on December 1.

Who is your target market?

Any individual, corporate, State institution or NGO. Holiday tourists also can buy packages.