First flight lands at memorial helipad
Three years after the project to build a fit-for-purpose helipad in Campbeltown began, the first test flights have taken place at the Robert Black Memorial Helipad.
Helimed 5, a Scottish Ambulance Service H145 helicopter from Glasgow, was the first aircraft to land at the site adjacent to Campbeltown Hospital on Thursday April 1, shortly after the potentially life-saving facility was deemed operational.
The £270,000 helipad was funded by the HELP Appeal, a charity dedicated to funding NHS hospital helipads, and built by Kintyre companies McFadyens Contractors and McKinven and Colville, with specialist equipment supplied by FEC Heliports Equipment.
The helipad, which will be officially opened at a ceremony in June, has been named in honour of Campbeltown paramedic Robert Black, who died last May after a battle with Covid-19.
The crew of the first helicopter to land – pilot Brett Hesketh and operational paramedics Jason Mortimer and Jim Henderson – were welcomed by Robert’s wife Catherine, deputy head teacher at Dalintober Primary School, and children from the school’s early learning centre, who were led to the helipad by piper Julie Blue.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘Air ambulance support is a vital lifeline for the communities of Campbeltown and the Kintyre peninsula. This new purpose-built pad is set to improve patient experience by reducing the transfer time for patients from Campbeltown Hospital.’
The first landings were livestreamed around the world by Eric Spence, manager of South Kintyre Development Trust (SKDT), which has taken on a licence to operate the helipad on behalf of the community.
Eric said: ‘It has been a really difficult year,’ he said, ‘particularly for Robert’s wife Catherine, and when I saw her stepping onto the helipad with the children, I became a wee bit overwhelmed by the whole thing. This is for their future, they will never need to put up with not having that facility.’
After consultation with Robert’s family, Eric revealed that SKDT’s plan for any money raised above the cost of the helipad’s upkeep is to be distributed to good causes close to Robert’s heart, with a view to a bigger project in his memory in the future.
The helipad project was led by ambulance technician Stuart McLellan, from Neilston in East Renfrewshire, after he saw emergency services struggling to airlift patients from the often waterlogged field, which previously served as a helipad, while visiting relatives in Campbeltown in 2018.
Stuart said: ‘I am pleased that I have been able to play my part getting Campbeltown this vital asset. I hope it’s not used often, however, if someone is unwell and requires flown to definitive care, then this asset will be there for years to come to allow that to happen safely and smoothly.’