Busy start to year for rescue helicopter
77 missions carried out by the service in January
Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter carried out 77 missions to the Waikato, King Country, Coromandel and surrounding regions over January.
There were 44 inter-hospital transfers, 14 medical events, 7 motor vehicle accidents, 3 rescues and 9 were to rural or remote locations.
The rescue helicopter was in Otorohanga, ¯ Thames, Whangamata and Matamata during January.
With Kiwis out making the most of the warm weather and sunshine, the helicopter crew remained on standby all summer. Of the missions the helicopter flew, 73 per cent were for injuries rather than illnesses. In January 21 of the missions were to the Coromandel.
Friday, January 7 saw the helicopter crew assisting a man in his 50s who sustained injuries from a motorcycle accident at Karioitahi Beach. He was taken to Middlemore Hospital.
The same day, the crew responded to a woman in her 20s who had sustained a lower leg injury on the Pukemokemoke Reserve bush walk. The woman was winched and transported to Waikato Hospital.
On Monday, January 10, the helicopter was tasked to Ngatira for a horse-riding incident where a woman in her 50s suffered severe injuries to her leg and hip. She was flown to Waikato Hospital.
A motorcycle accident in Otorohanga ¯ on January 14 led to the helicopter being at the scene to assist
a man in his 20s with serious injuries. He was flown to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition.
The helicopter crew conducted a beacon search in the Gisborne area after a logging incident on January 17. Once the patient was located, the onboard crew determined he had sustained rib and hip injuries and he was winched from his location and transported to Waikato Hospital.
The helicopter assisted multiple patients in the Coromandel, Hauraki and surrounding areas in January, including a man in his 30s who had fallen down a bank, sustaining an ankle injury in Waihi on January 20. The patient was flown to Tauranga Hospital.
The crew also attended to an infant who had suffered from a medical event in Paeroa on January 31. The
young patient and her mother were flown to Waikato Hospital.
A winch rescue on the Hakarimata Track in Ngāruawāhia was carried out by the crew on January 23. A woman in her 50s had fallen on the track. She was winched out and flown to hospital.
The same day, the crew returned to Ō torohanga, responding to a motor vehicle accident that involved a single vehicle. The driver had sustained serious injuries in the accident and was airlifted to hospital.
The helicopter was later in Kerepehi assisting a young boy who sustained injuries in a dirt bike accident. He was transported, accompanied by his father, to Waikato Hospital.
Give the gift of time this summer and donate to your rescue helicopter crew at www.rescue.org.nz.