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Article History

Received: 19 October 2025

Accepted: 11 March 2026

First Online: 23 March 2026

Declarations

:

: This study was based exclusively on fully anonymized, aggregated operational data from Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) bases in Poland. The dataset contained weekly counts of dispatches, accidents, illnesses, and transports and did not include any patient-identifiable information, personal data, or individual clinical records. Because the study used secondary, aggregated data with no possibility of identifying individuals, it did not involve human participants as defined by applicable research ethics regulations. According to the regulations of the Bioethics Committee of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz (Order No. ZR.215.2023), studies based solely on fully anonymized aggregated data do not require ethics committee approval. Therefore, formal approval from an institutional ethics committee was not required. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was not required, as no individual-level data were collected and no participants were directly involved in the study.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.