Help from above - rescue choppers doing more each year
Chopper rescue crews flew 2,121 missions across the lower South Island over 12 months.
The Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Service, operating from bases in Queenstown and Dunedin, attended 629 accidents, 109 search and rescue missions, 436 medical emergencies, conducted 935 hospital transfers, and a dozen other missions between July 2022 and July 2023.
That's a 27% increase on the previous 12 months.
In all, the choppers carried 1,866 patients, providing critical care and rescue to those in need - up 16%.
"The uplift reflects changing demographics, new clinical pathways, the increase in activity levels following the easing of Covid restrictions, and enhanced technology that enable more responses in adverse weather conditions," says Martin Dippie, Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Trust chair, in the annual report.
The report was presented to Otago Regional Council councillors earlier this week by trustee Stephen Woodhead and Graeme Gale, Managing Director Helicopters Otago Ltd that operates the service.
ORC is a major backer of the chopper rescue, providing $350k per year. The service is co-funded by community support and government support.
With fundraising and community donations totalling $1.26 million (including ORC), corporate sponsorship of around $118k, as well as interest and investment income, the trust's revenue hit $1.56m. It also received bequests of $506k.
Total expenses, including $977k to the helicopter operator, were $1.1m, leaving the trust with a surplus of $971k, and a total of $5.3m in funds.
That's a healthy position compared to the years of struggle for rescue helicopter services before the new contracts and funding arrangements were introduced, back in 2018.
The trust's aim is to preserve the capital, for future needs and innovations, while continuing to raise funds for operations.
Woodhead told councillors the Trust has an annual funding target of $800,000 pa, plus $400,000 pa contributed by Lakes District Air Rescue Trust.
"We are hugely grateful for the generous donations and sponsorship from organisations, community groups, and individuals across the region," Woodhead says.
"This year, we have welcomed Landpower Group Ltd, which owns the CLAAS Harvest Centre network, as our cornerstone Platinum Sponsor, joining others in our family of sponsors.
"That support is vital in enabling us to support the teams to bring vital life-saving care to patients every day and night of the year,” he said.
The presentation went on to highlight the significant development of new Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) routes across the region in the past five years, now providing connections through all the main valleys in Otago and Southland, enabling missions to be completed where poor visibility would other preclude flying.
"This is really game changing and enables us to get to critically sick patients in poor weather conditions," Gale told councillors.
The trust also bought two new ventilators during the reporting period.
ORC Chair Gretchen Robertson said the report reflected the community’s significant and growing reliance on the service that is delivered across the large and geographically challenging area in the lower South Island.
"ORC is delighted to support this critical service and is grateful to the teams of pilots and paramedics who are on call 24/7, 365 days of the year to respond to patients across the region," she said.
“We all rely on the world-class service that is delivered in our region, and we thank the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Trust for its work supporting that service."
