Catalan MP Questions Andorra's Access to Pyrenees Medical Helicopter

Catalan MP Jordi Fàbrega of Junts per Catalunya has questioned the Catalan Parliament about Andorra's access to the SEM's medical helicopter under a 2018 agreement with the Servei Andorrà d'Atenció Sanitària (SAAS), raising concerns over potential gaps in emergency coverage across the Pyrenees.

The agreement, signed on 15 June 2018 and updated with a February 2023 clause on air transfer tariffs, allows Andorra to request the SEM's sole helicopter or mobile ICU ambulance serving the Pyrenees region. It lacks provisions for territorial priority, requiring Andorra to exhaust its own resources first, or reciprocity allowing Catalan authorities to call on Andorra's two SUM helicopters for transfers in the upper Pyrenees.

Fàbrega seeks clarification on the current operational mechanism for activating SEM or SUM helicopters in patient transfers. He asks whether the SEM can formally request Andorra's helicopters for critical cases if its own are unavailable, and whether the 2018 agreement remains in force, including details on any extensions.

His questions also cover data since 2021: the number of transfers between Andorra and Catalonia, broken down by ground or air and day or night; total amounts billed by the SEM to SAAS, especially for air services; and any compensation or reciprocity if Andorran helicopters are used instead.