Kirsten Hannibal is a trained nurse and has been working in Rega’s Logistics Medicine department for two years. Together with two team colleagues, she is responsible  for ensuring that mission material  and medical equipment for the ambulance jets are available and in perfect condition at all times.

At the centre of her work is the socalled paternoster in Rega’s medicine room. This large, vertical carousel storage system with 34 “drawers” contains everything that the patients might need and that the crews take with them on their missions in the ambulance jet: from medication and plasters to swabs and syringes, to respiratory masks or ballpoint pens. Kirsten Hannibal makes sure that all the material is in stock in sufficient quantities so that the flight physicians and intensive care nurses can  quickly replace the used material  after a mission. Besides medical items, there always needs to be enough drinks and snacks on board. Kirsten therefore keeps a close eye on the stocks of coffee, orange juice, milk and chocolate. If supplies run low, she orders the products from the inhouse Logistics department or from an external supplier. 

On board the Rega jets are  various medical devices, for example,  for ventilating or monitoring patients. “We test the equipment at predefined intervals and ensure that the batteries are always charged.” The members of the Logistics Medicine team also meticulously check the transport incubator for premature babies on a regular basis. 

Another of Kirsten Hannibal’s tasks is the laundry service. She is responsible for ensuring that all the sheets, pillowcases and woollen blankets are washed after a mission and that the crew can always count on fresh bed linen being available. The 48-year-old enjoys the variety of her job: “We come into contact with many different Rega employees  and act as the hub between logistics and the mission crews. That makes our daily work very varied.” As a nurse, she previously worked at a cantonal hospital and for the Spitex home care service. “I really appreciate the fact that by working in the background at Rega, I can play a part in helping people in distress.”