Opinion: Sad farewell to Rotorua rescue chopper

The Government has cut funding for the Rotorua-based BayTrust Rescue Helicopter and it has been sold.

Taikehu Hollingsworth. Ruth Ashby. James Rolleston.

These are the names of just three people who are alive today thanks to the tireless work of the Rotorua-based BayTrust Rescue Helicopter.

There are thousands of others who would say their lives were saved by the helicopter service.

The very service that has just been axed.

Health Minister David Clark announced the decision yesterday, saying it made sense to keep Taupō's service, given its high volume of search and rescue operations, however Rotorua's base would not be included in the new contract.

Both were originally at risk of being axed and the communities in Taupō and Rotorua expressed their outrage through public meetings, protests and marches.

However, in the end I don't think the announcement came as much of a surprise to locals.

You could argue the writing was on the wall for the Rotorua-based service when it was revealed by the Rotorua Daily Post last month the helicopter had been sold.

But that doesn't make the decision sting any less.

This is a service credited to saving the lives of thousands of local people - the local people who relentlessly fundraised to help set up the service in the first place.

The trust operating in Rotorua would be part of the new contracted service for the central region, which will begin on November 1, but would operate from other bases.

The decision means the Rotorua region will be covered by helicopters in Taupō, Tauranga and Hamilton.

Clark said the response times were estimated to be the same or faster than under the current model.

That's all well and good for sudden emergencies and search and rescue operations but what will this mean for hospital transfers? The bread and butter for rescue choppers.

With serious medical events that need immediate transfers between hospitals, the time it takes to get to Rotorua, however fast it may be, could still be the difference between life and death.

And will we get assurance that Rotorua's hospital transfers won't take a backseat to Taupō, Tauranga and Waikato transfers?

With three helicopters servicing our area could there be more dithering, on top of the time it will take to get here, about which helicopter will go to pick up a sick child at Rotorua Hospital who urgently needs to be taken to Starship in Auckland?

It is a sad day when we see our Government cutting the cloth on a service that has done nothing but good, all the while citing the loss will ultimately improve efficiency.

I sincerely hope efficiency is improved. If it isn't, and we've lost our helicopter for no good reason, we - not the Government - will be the ones living with the consequences.