£700k helipad is still unused – after two years
A HOSPITAL helipad costing £700,000 and installed more than two years ago has never been used because it still doesn’t have adequate fencing or lights.
The state-of-the-art helipad at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil was built for emergency nighttime take-offs and landings by rescue helicopters.
But since it was completed in March 2017 it has not been used for even a single emergency flight due to health and safety fears.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board has confirmed the helipad will only become fully operational once suitable fencing and additional lighting are erected.
A spokeswoman for the health board said one of the operators of the emergency helicopters, Search and Rescue (SAR), had planned to change their fleet and use heavier aircraft, bringing with it additional safety considerations required by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
She said: “The health board has been working with SAR and the CAA to review the facility and establish the additional requirements to ensure we can safely accommodate this change in aircraft.
“This meant that we could not construct the safety fencing around the helipad until the required maximum clearance distances associated with such aircraft were confirmed by SAR and reviewed by the Civil Aviation Authority.
“SAR confirmed their requirements and a plan was submitted to the CAA for consideration.
“Having received advice from the CAA, this has then informed our ongoing discussions for the permanent arrangements required with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and how the fencing will be constructed to enable the new helipad to become fully operational.
“This fencing is important to protect public safety when helicopters land and take off from the helipad and incorporates a small amount of additional lighting.”
When installation was completed in March 2017, it was hailed by Health Minister Vaughan Gething as helping to “ensure those critically-ill patients who need care as fast as possible, by air, day or night, can get that care.”
Mr Gething said: “This is all part of our ongoing commitment to delivering a modern and effective health service that the people of Wales deserve.”
Subject to land and planning approvals, the Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB spokesman said the board was “confident” the first helicopters will begin using the helipad by the end of 2019.
Emergency helicopters are currently still using the hospital’s old helipad, with patients being transferred by ambulance to the hospital building.
However, it cannot be used in darkness.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board now covers Bridgend County Borough as well as Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Prince Charles Hospital’s neonatal and midwifery unit was given a £6m makeover earlier this year to accommodate a greater influx of patients following the downgrade of services at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant.