Heli-rescue trust told it's not needed

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 541, 21 June 1994, Page 1

Heli-rescue trust told it's not needed

Waimarino' s rescue helicopter will be used very little in future, St John Ambulance chief ambulance officer Gregory Phillips told the Waimarino Rescue Helicopter Trust at their annual meeting last Thursday. Mr Phillips was grilled for over an hour on why the ambulance service won't use the local helicopter, but | favours the Palmerston North-based New Zealand Rail rescue helicopter. He was invited to the meeting to explain how the ambulance service operates and how it decides which helicopter service to use. Many of the 30-plus Waimarino residents at the meeting repeatedly asked Mr Phillips why they would not use the Raetihi-based helicopter for non- ] life threatening use.

| MrPhillips said the serv- | ice favoured the dedicated I rescue helicopter service I which has a paramedic base | attached to it. He said with I a dedicated helicopter and a I paramedic base together a machine could be in the air much faster than is the case with a 'shared machine' such as the Waimarino helicopter. Paramedics were highly skilled and needed to be | using their skills to keep | them up to scratch. Waima-

rino did not have the numbers of emergency cases to warrant basing a paramedic in the area, he said. "Our challenge is to get paramedics into an area as quickly as we can, or use local general practitioners in an area (such as Waimarino)," he said. In-air trealment Apart from the quicker take-off time, he said the NZ Rail helicopter is a Squirrel which allows for staff to treat patients in the air, while the Jet Ranger helicopter operated by Wanganui Aero Works in the Waimarino does not have sufficient space to easily work on a patient. "Our policy is to use the best helicopter available at the time," he said. He then showed the layout of a helicopter 'built from the skids up' for ambulance work which had much more room than even the Squirrel. He said such a system was favoured but would have to be funded from central government and not from corporate sponsorship as at present. Trust chairman lan Strachan said with minor accidents paramedics weren't needed yet the service still called in

the Palmerston North helicopter. Ruapehu mayor Garrick Workman questioned the logic in sending a helicopter from Palmerston North to the Waimarino. Mr Phillips said if they were in doubt, they would err on the side of the patient. This sometimes meant the NZ Rail helicopter was over-used. "With a local machine, a local pilot and local knowledge, surely its quicker than flying from Palmerston North to here and then back to Palmerston North." 30-minute flight Mr Phillips said the helicopter could be in the Waimarino inside 30 minutes. i

"My expenence is that it is at least 45 minutes, and orten a lot longer, before that helicopter gets here," said Waimarino Police Sergeant Bob Evans. Mr Phillips said Sgt Evans was wrong. Wanganui Aero Works pilot Rick Harding said he could be in the air inside five or six minutes of a call, and certainly within 10 minutes. He said if he was already on standby he could be in the air straight away. Farmers' representative John McCarthy said local knowledge was surely essential for rural accidents, especially considered it often took a long time to report a farm accident. Trust member Mike Fetzer said the trust had been told that the Palmerston North service, when introduced, would complement the Waimarino service. "Now we're told that we can't even complement your service." Mr Phillips said sometimes it could take a long time to find out if a shared machine was available and that was valuable time wasted. Near the end of the meeting there was a glimmer of hope for the local service. Ohakune' s Doctor Parera said if the three local GPs were trained and available, the local helicopter could be used and that "C2) patients could then be transferred £o to a hospital much faster. Mr Phillips said St John OPEN 7 gO Ambulance Service PAYS would be speak- O JR Turn,o ^ SM Pas'2S from $15

Heli-rescue FROMPAGEl ing to the Crown Health Enterprises and GPs. "We would be happy to discuss (such a service) with you," said Mr Phillips. He said the GPs would need to carry out the trauma course in Auckland. The trust committee was told it had $46,000 worth of equipment (most of it kept at the Waimarino Hospital) and $19,000 in the bank.