Neilston man nets cash to build hospital helipad
ANEILSTON man is celebrating after securing funds to build a new helipad at a remote hospital. Stuart McLellan has led a campaign to secure £ 270,000 in funding from the Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads ( HELP) appeal to build a “fit for purpose” helipad at Campbeltown Hospital.
The helipad is now waiting for planning permission from Argyll and Bute Council.
Stuart, who is a student ambulance technician, has a longstanding connection to Campbeltown. He spent many summers there as a child and regularly visits relatives in the town.
He started the campaign to build a helipad when he noticed air ambulances often had to divert to Campbeltown Airport in order to land due to challenges with ground conditions and waterlogged fields.
The new helipad will mean that patients can be transferred to and from the hospital at all times of the day and in all weather conditions.
Stuart said: “I’m delighted to have been able to get this project this far for Campbeltown – it’s long overdue, and I’ll be even happier when I’m standing on the embankment watching the first helicopter land on the purposebuilt helipad which the community has needed for quite some time.”
A spokesman for NHS Highland said: “We are delighted to be working with Mr McLellan and the other partners in the development of the helipad project and we look forward to continuing to work with them over the coming months as the project moves forward.”
MSP for Argyll and Bute Michael Russell said: “Stuart has done a remarkable job. He has refused to take no or even maybe as an answer and has delivered something that should have been in place a long time ago. The whole community should be grateful for what he has done.”