Philips Search and Rescue conducted 168 missions in April
Philips Search and Rescue Trust conducted 168 missions across its four constituent services last month, with Greenlea and Palmerston North reporting that a third of callouts were rural incidents
Philips Search and Rescue Trust, the charity which provides air medical services across New Zealand’s North Island, has carried out 168 missions across its four constituent services, the Waikato Westpac, TECT, Palmerston North and Greenlea Rescue Helicopters
Sixty-per-cent of Waikato Westpac missions were inter-hospital transfers
Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter conducted 65 life-saving missions in April, including 39 inter-hospital transfers, 11 medical events, eight motor vehicle accidents and seven rural or remote missions, in areas such as Waihi, Paeroa, Te Kuiti, Whitianga and Cooks Beach.
Notable missions included:
- The airlifting of a man with sepsis in Waitetoko to Waikato Hospital on 20 April for further treatment
- The transport of a man in his 60s suffering a serious medical event to Taumarunui Hospital – the man was then flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment
- The transfer of another man in his 60s suffering from a serious medical event from Whakatane Hospital to Waikato Hospital for further treatment
- A serious motorcycle incident south of Te Kuiti on 24 April in which a man was flown by Waikato Westpac to Waikato Hospital to treat multiple injuries, and a woman with serious injuries was flown by Greenlea Rescue Helicopter to the same hospital
- A two-vehicle road incident on 25 April in which a seriously injured man in his 40s and a young boy were both transferred to Waikato Hospital for further treatment
- The airlifting of a man in his 40s in Taharoa who had suffered a medical incident to Waikato Hospital
- The airlifting of a man in Waikawau Bay on 29 April who had sustained injuries and required medical care to Waikato Hospital
- The airlifting of a teenager who sustained injuries at a motocross track in Ngawaro to Rotorua Hospital.
TECT Rescue Helicopter conducted 39 missions in
TECT Rescue Helicopter conducted 39 missions in April, a 12 per cent increase in comparison to March – including 17 inter-hospital transfers, 12 medical events, nine rural or remote missions and one rescue, to locations such as Kawerau, Waihi, Te Puke and Te Kaha.
Rural missions almost doubled compared with March and included quad bike rollovers and tractor incidents.
Notable incidents included:
- Assisting a man in his 20s who sustained a shoulder injury in the Kaimai Range on 23 April while hunting – the patient was located using Night Vision Goggles and airlifted to Tauranga Hospital
- A winch rescue on 24 April for a man in his 50s who was injured while mountain biking on the Timber Trail, who was airlifted to Waikato Hospital
- On the same day, a man and his teenage daughter who were injured during a boating accident in Mangakino were flown to Waikato Hospital
- A man from Rotorua who was suffering from a medical incident was flown to Tauranga Hospital on 26 April
- A man in his 60s suffering from sepsis in Te Kaha was flown, alongside his wife, to Tauranga Hospital.
Palmerston North saw a 29 per cent increase in demand this month
Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter reported a 29 per cent increase in demand for April compared with March, carrying out 25 missions for the month, of which 32 per cent (eight) were for rural incidents.
Other incidents included six inter-hospital transfers, six motor vehicle incidents, four medical events and one rescue across locations such as Akito, Levin, Kimbolton and the Tararua Ranges.
Notable incidents included:
- Airlifting a man in his 60s from Tararua Forest Park on 24 April who had suffered a medical incident while hiking to Palmerston North Hospital
- Airlifting a man who had suffered a cardiac event in Kimbolton to Palmerston North Hospital on 25 April
- Airlifting a patient to Whanganui Hospital who had sustained injuries in a quad bike accident on Tangimoana Beach.
Greenlea conducted 13 rural missions in April
Greenlea Rescue Helicopter conducted 39 missions in April, including 15 inter-hospital transfers, 13 rural or remote missions, five medical events, three rescues and three motor vehicle incidents, in areas such as Tongariro, Ngaruroro River, Rotorua and Turangi.
Like Palmerston North, Greenlea also reported that a third of all incidents it responded to were rural incidents.
Notable incidents included:
- The airlift of a man who had fallen and sustained a leg injury on the Umukarikari Track in Kaimanawa Forest Park on 23 April, who was treated by a Critical Care Flight Paramedic and then flown to Rotorua Hospital
- The transfer on 23 April of a man in his 80s who was suffering from a serious medical condition, from Taupo Hospital to Waikato Hospital
- The transfer of a man in his 70s with a severe head injury on 24 April from Taupo Hospital to Waikato Hospital
- The transfer of a man in his 70s to Rotorua Hospital on 25 April due to a medical condition
- The transportation of a woman in her 40s who had sustained injuries in a mountain biking incident in Tongariro Forest to Waikato Hospital
- The transfer of an infant with a medical condition to Rotorua Hospital, and the subsequent transportation of a young boy to Waikato Hospital for specialist treatment.