New Zealand rescue helicopter services set for change
Changes to how rescue helicopter and air ambulance services will be purchased by the New Zealand Government are to be brought in after the National Ambulance Sector Office issued a Request For Proposal to the Government, a formal step in the purchasing process.
Changes to how rescue helicopter and air ambulance services will be purchased by the New Zealand Government are to be brought in after the National Ambulance Sector Office (NASO) issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) to the Government, a formal step in the purchasing process. The RFP sets out NASO’s purchasing requirements for all of New Zealand.
Currently, Philips Search and Rescue Trust (PSRT) operates rescue helicopters and air ambulance services from bases in Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Taupo and Palmerston North, whilst a number of other rescue helicopter operators are based in Northland, Auckland, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Wellington and Taranaki.
The RFP requires the current seven North Island providers to be distilled down to only two regions – Area 1: Auckland/Northland and Area 2: the rest of the North Island. Within Area 2 the RFP proposes that the locations for helicopters bases are to be Hamilton, Tauranga, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Palmerston North and New Plymouth.
The RFP also makes changes in relation to the scope and scale of the services rescue helicopter operators provide. The new NASO contract will shift aircraft types from a mix of single and twin engine to solely twin engine, whilst also aiming to ramp up the requirements of crewing, especially in paramedics and doctors. The scope of the service will also expand to include the providers taking on the contractual responsibility of not only providing Pre-Hospital Emergency Paramedics but also Doctors and Nurses for Rotary Wing Inter Hospital Transfer missions carried out within the region covered by the RFP.
The timeline for submitting a response to the RFP is only until 7 May, and it is intended that the new upgraded services will be in place and operating from the 1 November 2018, when the current NASO contracted services expire.