Callouts keep rescue chopper busy
35 callouts for Greenlea Rescue Helicopter
September was a busy month for the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter, with a total of 35 missions carried out by the crew.
This included many different emergencies, from injuries to medical assistance, across the Lake Taupō , National Park and wider Waikato regions.
Assignments included 19 interhospital transfers, eight rural or remote missions, five medical events, two motor vehicle accidents and one rescue mission.
The first three major callouts of the month were all to snow sports injuries.
The crew first attended Tū roa ski field, where a man in his 20s had sustained serious injuries after falling from his snowboard.
He was taken to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.
The following day, the crew were back on the mountain to attend to a man in his 40s who had sustained fracture injuries after hitting a rock whilst skiing.
The patient was taken to Rotorua Hospital for treatment.
On September 3, it was back to Tū roa again to assist a woman in her 20s who had fallen down a steep ledge whilst skiing; she sustained fracture injuries and was flown to Waikato Hospital.
The next significant callout was on September 7, when the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter attended a serious vehicle accident on SH1 at Tauranga-Taupō .
A woman in her 50s sustained multiple injuries and was flown to Waikato Hospital.
On the same night, the crew were back out, to Taupō Airport, where a woman in her 30s had sustained serious injuries.
With the help of Hato Hone St Johns, who transported the patient to the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter hangar, she was flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.
The following evening of September 8, the crew flew to Otorohanga to assist a man in his 30s with serious injuries, who was also taken to Waikato Hospital.
The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter’s next significant mission was to Tokoroa Hospital on September 12, to help a woman in her 30s who had been involved in a vehicle accident which left her with serious injuries.
The same evening, it was back to Otorohanga ¯ for a man in his 30s who had also been involved in a vehicle accident. A head-on crash had left him with serious injuries, so he was flown to Waikato Hospital.
That Thursday, September 14, the helicopter was dispatched to Tū roa ski field once more, to assist a patient in their 70s who had slipped on icy terrain, leading to serious fracture injuries.
Next, on September 16, the Greenlea made two callouts, first to transport a man in his 30s from Rotorua Hospital to Waikato Hospital.
Later, a teenager was uplifted from Whakapapa ski field, having fallen off his snowboard, causing serious injuries.
A woman in her 20s who had sustained serious hand injuries while working on a farm was transported to Waikato Hospital for further treatment on September 18.
The next morning, the crew flew to Whirinaki Hut to help a young boy who had become very unwell during a tramping trip. He was taken to Rotorua Hospital for treatment.
The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter saw out the month by taking a male patient from Taupō Hospital to Rotorua Hospital.
The patient had fallen unwell and became severely dehydrated, so he was taken to Rotorua for further treatment.
Donations keep the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter in the air, getting highly-trained crew to time-critical events, and can be made at https:/ /give.rescue.org.nz/.