Editorial: We must support chopper

An off-road motorcycle accident at Ashley Clinton. A woman with a cardiac condition in Takapau. A man with a neurological condition, a child with seizures, and a woman with pregnancy complications in Wairoa. Fatal accidents near Raupunga, Nuhaka and Ruakituri. A man with emphysema at Pourerere Beach. A woman with a laceration at Waimarama. A woman with back injuries at Blackhead Beach.

Just some of the incidents attended by the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter Service already this year. In the "golden hour" following life-threatening events, whether by land or sea, wherever it is in Hawke's Bay, this service's helicopters have appeared on the horizon time and time again.

There are also the mundane, but equally important inter-hospital transfers to put patients in touch with the care they desperately need.

It is incredible that a service funded by public and business sponsorship has survived and continued to operate with the efficiency it has. And credit is due to businessman Graeme Lowe, who began his naming rights sponsorship in 1992 - a link that has continued through to the present day, with his son Andy Lowe this week confirming an ongoing relationship through to at least 2015.

With Hawke's Bay spanning from Dannevirke in the south to Wairoa in the north, many of our population live in rural environments while others take to the outdoors on a regular basis.

When things go wrong it is the helicopter service that is a lifeline - able to get to places quickly and have patients where they need to be in a manner other modes of transport cannot achieve. How many lives it has saved can only be speculated on?

Free to the Hawke's Bay public - it costs more than $2 million per year to run - this 24/7 operation flew more than 300 missions last year. It is a sponsorship for the Lowe's to be proud of. It is a service we all have a stake in, and need to support.