When Time is of the Essence

Buckle up! Our new H145 rescue helicopter really is taking flight.

Tune in to @sevensharptvnz tonight. You`ll see this life-saving machine in the air and hear pilot Barry and paramedic Adrian talk about how our modernised fleet of H145 helicopters will save more lives, more often.

𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁
𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗩𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁

𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗢𝗻𝗲: 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀, 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗮, 𝗔𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗻
𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝘄𝗼: 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁, 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻, 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁
𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲: 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘁, 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗲, 𝗘𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱

Three rescue helicopters were deployed to this three-car collision on a remote West Coast road.

Petrus is a Critical Care Paramedic on the ROA Mining West Coast Rescue Helicopter. When he arrived at the scene, there were eight patients spread across the 200-metre stretch of road.

“There was a crew on scene from Hato Hone St John and the fire service had just arrived. It was busy. My first job was to get to each patient and triage them according to which patient had the highest needs,” Petrus says.

When Hato Hone St John’s incident team arrived, the job of controlling patient care went to them. That meant Petrus, who had the highest skill level on scene, could focus on patient management.

“In a complex incident such as this we work closely with our fellow first responders and we all have specific roles. Considering the complexity of this scene it was good to know two more helicopters were on the way.”

Two Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopters flew to the scene.

Three patients were transported to hospital by helicopter; two went to Christchurch Hospital and one to Greymouth Hospital.

The rescue helicopter has the only critical care paramedics on the West Coast.

“The rescue helicopter is so important to the West Coast. It gets us to a scene fast and ensures our communities have access to the highest level of care.

“On any mission, the more patients we have the more difficult it can be, especially in such a remote area where options for transport are limited. This mission took a bit of triaging to make sure each patient was getting the right level of care and that we were using our available resources to the very best of our ability,” Petrus says.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟭,𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁.
www.airrescue.co.nz

When David Pedersen`s physio suggested he give biking a go, they probably didn`t expect him to bike the length of New Zealand.

But in February 2026, that`s exactly what he`ll be doing as part of mid-Canterbury`s Rescue Warriors, raising funds for the Canterbury and West Coast rescue helicopters.

“𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲. 𝗜𝘁’𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱.”

Find out more about David and the Rescue Warriors here: https://www.airrescue.co.nz/stories/david-pedersen-rescue-warrior-seven/

Rescue Warriors Live
NZ 3000km Bike Tour