KUALA LUMPUR: The Flying Doctor Service (FDS) must continue serving remote communities in Sarawak despite the recent helicopter crash near Long Lellang, but safety standards must be strengthened, says Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye (pic).
The Alliance for a Safe Community chairman said the tragedy, which claimed five lives, including four Health Ministry personnel on an FDS mission, highlighted the risks faced by those providing healthcare to people in remote areas.
“My deepest condolences go to the families of all the victims. The sacrifice of the pilot and healthcare workers, who were carrying out their duties in the service of rural communities, must never be forgotten,” he said when contacted on Monday (Sept 14).
Lee said the FDS remained essential as vast areas of Sarawak were still difficult to reach by road.
“For these communities, FDS is not a luxury but a lifeline, providing medical treatment, medicines, vaccinations and emergency medical evacuation,” he said.
He noted that the service had been operating in Sarawak since 1973 and currently served 97 remote localities.
However, Lee said continuity of the service must go hand in hand with the highest possible safety standards.
He welcomed the government's decision to conduct a comprehensive review following the crash, saying the exercise should examine the entire safety and operational system of the FDS, rather than focusing solely on the condition of the helicopter involved.
Among the measures that should be considered were a comprehensive safety audit of the FDS fleet, including aircraft age, maintenance history, component life limits, inspection records and reliability.
He also called for aircraft replacement and fleet modernisation to be considered when helicopters had reached the limits of their economically and operationally viable service life.
“Age alone should not be treated as proof of an unsafe aircraft, but neither should age-related risks be ignored,” he said.
Lee also called for stronger preventive maintenance and independent safety inspections, particularly for critical aircraft components and systems.
He said weather and flight-risk assessments should also be strengthened, taking into account haze, poor visibility, heavy rain, thunderstorms, terrain, wind conditions and other environmental hazards.
“There must be a clear ‘no-go’ decision whenever conditions are unsafe,” he said.
Lee also proposed a review of remote landing sites and short take-off and landing (STOL) facilities, including runway conditions, surrounding terrain, obstacles, communications, navigation aids, firefighting capabilities and emergency response arrangements.
He said pilot training and operational preparedness for challenging terrain and remote-area flying should also be enhanced, including simulator training, emergency procedures and decision-making in adverse weather.
The contractual and governance arrangements for the FDS should also be reviewed, he said, with safety requirements, maintenance responsibilities, aircraft availability, operator performance and accountability clearly defined and independently monitored.
Lee said stronger contingency arrangements were also needed to ensure remote communities were not completely cut off from healthcare when helicopters could not operate.
“This could include greater use of emergency medical evacuation capabilities, land and river transport where feasible, and appropriate assets of the Armed Forces and other agencies,” he said.
Lee stressed that the government should adopt a “safety first, service always” approach.
“We must not allow this tragedy to result in remote communities losing access to essential healthcare.
“At the same time, we must not accept a situation where healthcare workers have to put their lives at unnecessary risk in order to serve those communities,” he said.
He said the answer was not to abandon the FDS but to make it safer, more resilient, better governed and properly equipped for the realities of Sarawak's remote terrain.
“The lives of both the people receiving care and the doctors, nurses, medical assistants and pilots delivering that care are equally precious.
“The tragedy at Long Lellang should therefore become a turning point for strengthening the Flying Doctor Service — not the end of it,” he said.
