Nurses may join helicopter rescue missions as part of plans to improve the Government Flying Service.
New and better-equipped helicopters with bigger capacity - 24 passengers up from 19 - along with a fresh recruitment drive for more flying doctors will also form part of the improvement package.
Thirty-four doctors - each with at least five years emergency experience - currently volunteer to rescue hikers involved in accidents at weekends and during public holidays.
Government rescue helicopters have responded to 1,704 emergencies since the flying doctors service was introduced a year ago. Of these, 250 involved doctors.
Flying doctor Lau Chor-chiu said the programme's success was behind plans to hire more doctors and to include qualified nurses in recruitment.
'We are planning to explore the possibility of recruiting flying nurses to offer assistance to our doctors and we may also invite those at the St John Ambulance to join our service,' he said.