Over the 18 months to the end of November 2009, EMRS had undertaken 356 retrievals and given advice on a further 283 patients — among them cases from Broadford, Portree, Benbecula, Barra and Stornoway hospitals. Extending the scheme will now allow other communities — such as Ullapool in Wester Ross — to join those already covered by the EMRS team, said Andrew Cadamy, a consultant in intensive care and anaesthesia at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow and one of around 25 flying doctors who will be involved in the new service.

The costs of running the EMRS — which will be extended to a two-team, one-site service based in Glasgow by October 2010 — are expected to be in the region of £2 million annually.

Ms Sturgeon said: “Getting the best possible medical help to a critically-ill patient, or someone who has been seriously injured, as quickly as possible can significantly improve their chances of making a full recovery.

“But critical illness and injury can happen anywhere. Patients will often be some distance from the essential medical treatment they need.

“This early intervention can make the difference between life and death and that’s why we have decided to establish Scotland’s flying doctors as a national service, covering all parts of rural Scotland.”

NHS Highland chief executive Roger Gibbins said: “This is an important service for remote and rural communities and we are pleased that it is being continued and extended. Getting very ill patients to the intensive care they require is a major challenge.

“Emergency Medical Retrieval supports our rural practitioners to ensure people have access to the same high-quality services wherever they live.”

NHS Western Isles chief executive Gordon Jamieson added: “The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service provides a critical service to the population of the Western Isles. Emergency stabilisation and evacuation is a vital part of our clinical strategy and I very much welcome this decision to extend and expand this service.”

Scottish Ambulance Service chief executive Pauline Howie said: “EMRS enhances the Scottish Ambulance Service’s existing air ambulance service, which is staffed by air paramedics who are specialists in emergency care and flies over 3,000 missions annually.”