The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew carried out a total of 53 missions in November. Photo / Supplied
The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew carried out a total of 53 missions in November. Photo / Supplied
The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter and TECT Rescue Helicopter had a super busy November with a combined total of 18 missions to the Coromandel which is over double the number of missions in the region during October.
The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew carried out a total of 53 missions, 15 of these were to the Coromandel. Thames Hospital was the most visited out of 30 completed inter-hospital transfers.
The helicopter's first November mission tasked the crew to Rotorua Hospital to transfer a male patient in his 60s who experienced a cardiac event. He was first flown to Waikato Hospital for assessment and treatment before being flown to Middlemore Hospital for further treatment.
On November 3, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to transport a male patient in his 30s who was suffering a serious medical event.
November 5 saw the helicopter crew being dispatched to Rotorua for a female teenage patient who had sustained burns and was flown to Waikato Hospital. The same day, the crew was tasked to transport a young male patient from Rotorua Hospital to Waikato Hospital.
On November 8, the rescue helicopter transported a female patient in her 60s who had suffered a cardiac event from Rotorua Hospital to Waikato Hospital.
The crew was then immediately called to Thames Hospital for a male patient in his 80s experiencing abdominal pain who was flown to Waikato Hospital.
In the evening of November 10, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter responded to a single-vehicle accident on SH30, between Mangakino and Bennydale. The patient had suffered multiple serious injuries and required transport via helicopter to Waikato Hospital.
On November 14, the helicopter crew was tasked to transfer a female patient in her 40s suffering a medical event from Thames Hospital to Waikato Hospital.
November 18 saw the rescue helicopter being tasked to Tokoroa for a man in his early 20s who sustained a spinal injury from a fall from his motorcycle. He was being transported to Middlemore Hospital.
The next day, the helicopter was dispatched to Tokoroa for a woman in her 50s who had suffered a medical event in her home. The patient was airlifted to Waikato Hospital.
The Waikato Westpac and TECT Rescue Helicopter completed a combined total of 18 missions to the Coromandel - over double the number of missions in the region from October. Photo / Supplied
On November 21, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to transport a premature female infant from Whakatane Hospital to Waikato Hospital.
Afterwards, the helicopter was called out to Waikaretu for a female patient who had suffered a cardiac event in their home. The patient was transported to Waikato Hospital.
In the afternoon of November 22, the rescue helicopter crew was tasked to Pyes Pa in southern Tauranga, for a male patient in his 50s who had sustained serious upper-body injuries after a tree-felling accident. The patient was resuscitated and stabilised at the scene before being flown to Waikato Hospital.
On November 24, the crew was called to Putaruru for a male patient in his 30s who experienced breathing difficulties and who was flown to Waikato Hospital.
Then, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to retrieve a young female patient from Taupo Hospital who had suffered a medical emergency and who was flown to Waikato Hospital accompanied by her mother.
The rescue crew's last mission for the month on November 27 saw the helicopter being tasked to Parakiwai, southwest of Whangamata, for a male patient in his 40s who had sustained injuries falling from his motocross bike. The crew flew the patient to Waikato Hospital.
The rescue crews assist patients in the Waikato and around the Coromandel region all year round - from rescues, medical events, inter-hospital transfers and motor vehicle accidents.
With the warmer weather and people set to be holidaying in the Coromandel soon, the crew expects the demand for the rescue helicopter to increase in the coming months.
