Flight lands in a big flap
THE Ingham community’s ongoing problem with flying foxes has intensified after airborne bats delayed an emergency helicopter landing at Ingham Hospital.
A video posted on social media by Christine Vella shows the emergency helicopter completing three wide laps of the hospital attempting to land as the bats were taking flight at dusk on Wednesday.
Thousands of flying foxes roost in the Botanic Gardens, which is close to two primary schools, the public swimming pool and the hospital.
The video attracted a number of comments voicing outrage, including from Rae Pelleri, who said the lives of the bats had a higher value than the lives of people.
“It’s going to take a chopper crash or someone to die waiting,” she wrote. “They are just stinking bats that strip trees and bring disease. The stench near Ingham State School is shocking. Unfortunately the poor chopper came in at the wrong time.”
An official for Queensland Health would only confirm that Retrieval Services Queensland sent a QGAIR helicopter, R521, to transfer a “high-priority patient” from Ingham Hospital to Townsville Hospital.
“We cannot provide the clinical details or outcomes for the patient due to patient confidentiality,” the spokesman said. “The Public Safety Business Agency advised that QG Air has protocols in place to address dispersing of bat colonies prior to landing.
“There was no immediate risk in this situation and mitigating processes were used to disperse the bats naturally.” Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto said the statement said “pretty much nothing”.
“But in many emergency situations seconds count, when someone’s had a stroke, when someone’s had a heart attack, when someone’s had a very serious car accident, or any accident in the field, when seconds count; this is not good enough.”
The Katter’s Australian Party MP said the helicopter circling the hospital would have been a dramatic scene.
“There are thousands of bats circulating, while the helicopter is stressing about landing to pick up a priority patient, and while everyone is watching that from their balconies or on Facebook; they are thinking about their child, about their mother, their partner and about how they would feel in that situation,” he said.
Rachael Coco, the co-ordinator of a campaign to rid Ingham of flying foxes, said it was not the first time the bats had disrupted emergency medical flights, both in Ingham and in Charters Towers.