TECT Rescue Helicopter completes 32 missions throughout Bay of Plenty in May

The TECT Rescue Helicopter completed 32 missions in May. Photo / Supplied

The TECT Rescue Helicopter completed 32 missions in May.

The onboard crew attended to patients across the Coastal Bay of Plenty region, including two rescues in Te Kaha and two in Rangiuru.

Throughout the month, the helicopter visited the likes of Pauanui, Waihī, Paeroa and Waihau Bay.

Included in the total missions were seven rescues, three of these to farms and rural areas, five motor vehicle incidents, 16 inter-hospital transfers, and four medical missions.

On May 1 the TECT Rescue Helicopter attended Karangahake Gorge, where a man in his 20s had collided with a car while riding his motorcycle.

He received multiple injuries in the crash and was airlifted to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition.

On May 4, the helicopter was sent to Waihau Bay for a female patient in her 40s who was suffering an allergic reaction.

The patient was treated by the onboard crew and flown to Whakatāne Hospital. While in Whakatāne, they were then dispatched to take a female patient in her 30s, in serious condition, to Waikato Hospital.

After returning to base, the helicopter took a 10-year-old boy suffering from a serious medical condition to Starship Hospital for treatment. The TECT Rescue Helicopter then flew a male patient in his 40s from Whakatāne Hospital to Tauranga Hospital for treatment.

May 15 called for a double helicopter mission to State Highway 5 on the Mamaku Ranges after a motorbike accident.

Within 25 minutes both the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter and the TECT Rescue Helicopter were on the scene.

The TECT Rescue Helicopter attended five motor vehicle accidents in May. Photo / Supplied

The rider and passenger suffered serious injuries requiring transport to the hospital. The TECT Rescue Helicopter transported a male in his 50s to Waikato Hospital and the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter transported a female in her 50s to Waikato Hospital.

The TECT Rescue Helicopter was tasked to transport a male patient in his 60s who felt unwell after a recreational dive on May 20. The onboard crew flew the patient from Tauranga Hospital to North Shore Hospital.

On May 23, the TECT Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to a mountain bike track in Aongatete, in the Bay of Plenty region, for a male patient in his 40s who had sustained a serious spinal injury falling from his bike.

The onboard crew stabilised the patient before flying him to Middlemore Hospital for further assessment and treatment.

The TECT Rescue Helicopter would not be able to complete these life-saving missions if it were not for the generous support and donations from the public.