A 30-year-old woman has been evacuated from Lewanika General Hospital in Mongu to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka after a severe Road Traffic Accident (RTA) that left her in a critical condition.

The patient suffered a serious brain injury with suspected bleeding on the brain and fluid in the lungs, and was unconscious on arrival.

It was indicated that she required urgent brain surgery, including a brain scan and a possible operation to relieve pressure on the brain, services that were unavailable at the facility.

In response to the emergency, Hospital Senior Medical Superintendent Dr. Sikakena Kapatiso wrote to the Permanent Secretary for Technical Services at the Ministry of Health Zambia, requesting an emergency air evacuation through the Zambia Flying Doctors Service.

The request was approved, and the evacuation mission was dispatched from the ZFDS base in Ndola.

Director of Aviation Services Lasford Manchishi and Acting Deputy Director Aviation Services Patrick Kawanu crewed aircraft 9J-AGC, while paramedic Suzen Banda and anaesthetist Bupe Musenga provided medical care throughout the flight.

The aircraft departed Ndola at 12:07 hours, landed in Mongu at 14:27 hours to pick the patient from Lewanika General Hospital, and later departed at 14:57 hours for Lusaka.

The patient, who was on a ventilator during the flight, arrived in stable condition and was handed over to a medical team from the University Teaching Hospital at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport,ZAF side.

As a statutory body and the Ministry of Health,ZFDS reaffirms its commitment to improving access to specialized medical care through the Ministry of Health and Government and the Government of the Republic of Zambia.