Plans for new Dorset helipad advance with HELP Appeal funding

Dorset County Hospital (DCH) in southwest England has received the final instalment of a £2 million donation from the HELP Appeal for a new rooftop helipad.

The hospital trust is building a brand-new Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit on the former Damers School site as part of the UK government’s new hospital program.

The new helipad will allow a patient to be transferred quickly and comfortably via a lift directly into the hospital, maintaining their privacy and dignity.

Robert Bertram, Chief Executive of the HELP Appeal, presented the fourth and final £500,000 instalment to DCH staff, ahead of construction of the new helipad beginning next year.

Anita Thomas, Dorset County Hospital’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the HELP Appeal and their supporters for funding a rooftop helipad on our new Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit. These departments care for some of the sickest and most seriously injured patients, and the new helipad will help us provide timely urgent care to people for many years to come.”

The HELP Appeal has funded 55 lifesaving helipads at Major Trauma Centers and A&E hospitals around the UK. Of these, 32 were brand new, which have now seen over 29,000 landings.

While construction of the new DCH building is underway, the old helipad has been decommissioned, and a temporary landing site is being used at the nearby Army Reserve Centre, which has also been funded by the HELP Appeal.

This month, HELP Appeal also donated £300,000 towards a new helipad for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.