The TrustPower TECT Rescue Helicopter

An emergency rescue helicopter has been operating in the Bay of Plenty region since June 2000. The Tauranga based rescue helicopter, known as the TrustPower TECT Rescue Helicopter, covers the Bay of Plenty region, from Waihi, along the coastline to Te Kaha, inland to Matamata and sometimes well beyond.

The rescue helicopter and its expert crew carry out approximately 150 missions each year. A mix of ambulance, search and rescue and Police work makes up these missions with the overall service having a very real impact on outcomes for members of the community unfortunate enough to suffer serious illness or injury.

It's main work involves getting St John paramedics and rescue personnel to critically ill or badly injured people anywhere in the region, and then getting those endangered people to the major hospitals in Tauranga and Hamilton for the best possible care.

Often, the helicopter is called on to get paramedics and rescue crew into remote locations, such as forestry or distant farming and bush areas, where people have been badly injured and need urgent attention. A large number of calls are for accidents involving motor vehicles, as well as incidents on farms and those related to recreational pursuits.

As well, the helicopter and specialist crew play major roles in search and rescue work on land or at sea, and also to support the police with armed defender callouts. In the past the rescue helicopter has also been called to help fight bush fires around the region.

Hospital utilisation of the helicopter is steadily increasing due to transfers to both Waikato Hospital and Auckland Hospital and retrievals from smaller hospitals back to Tauranga Hospital.

On the 30th of October work was completed on the Ian Pain Memorial Hangar that now houses the rescue helicopter. This is a state of the art facility that positions the service well for the future, especially with the expected increase in demand on the service.

The AS350B2 ‘Squirrel’ helicopter and its expert crew of pilots, paramedics, and officers of the Police force, respond quickly and effectively to all emergencies to ensure delivery of the best level of service; a service made possible through donations of time, money, goods and services from local businesses, service groups and the community at large.

The service is available to everyone living in the region, and is also widely used by visitors, travellers and tourists who are in the area and experience illness or accident.

The TrustPower TECT Rescue Helicopter is one of five rescue helicopter services in the Central North Island operated and managed by the Philips Search & Rescue Trust.