The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter attended six missions over the weekend.
On Saturday, the team were dispatched to Whakatane with an ICU team to retrieve a patient with a serious cardiac condition. This mission was closely followed by a callout to Putaruru to assist a teenager suffering respiratory distress. The patient was flown to Waikato Hospital.
The day did not ease for the team, with another callout to Te Anga, near Marakopa, to assist and transport to Waikato woman who had fallen from a road bike sustaining serious injuries.
Another motorcyclist was transported to Waikato Hospital, after parting company with his motorcycle while navigating a bend in the road in Glen Murray.
On Sunday, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to two missions. Firstly, the rescue helicopter was tasked to a farm south of Te Awamutu to retrieve a farmer who had gone over the side of a steep bank while riding his farm bike. It was necessary to utilise the NZCT Rescue Winch to rescue the man due to the inaccessibility of his position. He had sustained serious injuries and was flown to Waikato Hospital. Then it was off to Tokoroa for an emergency inter-hospital transfer. The patient was airlifted to Waikato Hospital.
ABOUT PHILIPS SEARCH AND RESCUE TRUST
Philips Search & Rescue Trust (PSRT) is the charity responsible for the North Island’s largest pool of community helicopters. PSRT was founded in 1985 after an endowment by Philips New Zealand Limited to mark a light aircraft accident near Turangi in which two Philips personnel lost their lives.
Encompassing six rescue helicopters and two fixed-wing planes, the service provides air health and rescue services free of charge to the public on a no-fault basis. The rapid response is powered by an expert crew of pilots, paramedics, flight nurses, Police and volunteer crewmen. In a life and death situation it is this speed and agility that can make all the difference, with patients able to receive medical treatment whilst en route to a medical facility.
Philips Search & Rescue Trust operates:
Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter, Waikato King Country
Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter, Bay of Plenty
BayTrust Rescue Helicopter, Rotorua – Bay of Plenty
Greenlea Rescue Helicopter, Taupo – Central Plateau
Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter, Manawatu – Whanganui
Westpac Air Ambulance (Fixed wing), Nationwide
MORE LIFE-SAVING RESCUES YOUR DONATIONS HELP FUND
Medical emergency at school camp
Farmer injured near Eketahuna
Shoulder injuries on Rangiaea Island
