Subscribe to our newsletter below.

  • HOME
  • WHO WE ARE
    • About the Rescue Helicopter Trust
    • About the Rescue Helicopter Service
    • Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopter
    • West Coast ROA Mining Rescue Helicopter
    • NZ Flying Doctors
    • Canterbury Sponsors
    • West Coast Sponsors
    • Meet The Team
    • Contact Us
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Media
    • Photo Gallery
    • Latest News
Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue
  • LIFE-SAVING STORIES
    • Patient Stories
    • Submit Your Story
  • SUPPORT US
    • Training Saves Lives
    • Ambassador Appeal
    • AsureQuality MAP Project
    • The Gifts that Give
    • Events
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Fundraise For Us
    • Leave a Legacy
  • DONATE
November 17, 2020 In Uncategorized

New Zealand Flying Doctor Service launches new plane

123201887_3370794262956192_3561704054548249356_o
New Zealand Flying Doctor Service launches new plane on 25th anniversary

The New Zealand Flying Doctor Service has come a long way since first taking to the skies 25 years ago, and today in Christchurch it officially unveiled a new specialist medical aircraft to add much-needed critical care capacity.

One of the first high profile missions was to transfer medical teams from Christchurch to Greymouth to assist staff at Greymouth Hospital following the Cave Creek disaster on 27 April 1995, using a Cessna 421 Golden Eagle. That mission will be remembered at a gathering to launch the new plane today (29 October 2020) — six months after the 25th anniversary due to COVID restrictions.

The new Beechcraft Super King Air 200C is equipped with two patient stretchers plus seating for up to four medical crew and patient support people, equipment and two pilots. The aircraft is a perfect fit as its performance and versatility allows us to operate efficiently around the country, including the Chatham Islands. It operates at 480km per hour and has a 1500 nautical mile range, servicing the entire South Island and the remote Chatham Islands. The journey from Invercargill to Christchurch takes just over one hour, rather than eight hours by road ambulance.

New Zealand Flying Doctor Trust Chair, Dr David Bowie says the state-of-the-art plane will boost delivery of critical health care services across New Zealand.

“The new plane is needed as numbers of missions have significantly increased in recent years. We have flown over 1200 missions in the past year, up 17 per cent. Chances are, there is at least one aircraft airborne right now transferring a seriously ill patient for specialist care.

“This is a life-saving service, and the plane is set up as a flying intensive care unit. When time is of the essence and distance is an issue, the New Zealand Flying Doctor Service is the only option for many patients,” Dr Bowie says.

Chief Executive of the New Zealand Flying Doctor Trust, Christine Prince says the service works to ensure patients get the right care at the right specialist facility as soon as possible.

“As a charity, the NZ Flying Doctor Trust thanks the community for supporting this service over the years. It can be quite emotional when patients come back to visit us at the base at GCH Aviation. They are all extremely grateful the service exists.”

GCH Aviation General Manager Simon Duncan, who attended the Cave Creek disaster 25 years ago, says from small beginnings the NZ Flying Doctor service now operates 24/7 delivering critical care patients to the appropriate medical facilities to improve patient outcomes.

“The NZ Flying Doctor aircraft and air rescue helicopters complement each other, with helicopters being the primary response in emergency situations from the scene to hospital, and fixed wing aircraft taking over when a different type of care or transfer is required, most often for interhospital transport of patients requiring  acute treatment offered at a larger tertiary centre.” Mr. Duncan says.

The head of clinical retrieval at Canterbury District Health Board, Dr Neil Davidson says with the service’s highly trained medical, nursing staff and specialist equipment, patients can be transferred seamlessly to a hospital for advanced medical treatment.

These aircraft can maintain a sea level cabin pressure which is important for critically ill patients. Most of all these patients need to have specialised intensive care through the flight from one hospital to another, until treatment is available at the destination,” Dr Davidson says.

Back to blog

Recent Posts

  • Rescue Crew Training
  • Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Service 2020
  • Terra Viva Support Air Rescue
  • Business Support Crew Update December
  • Rescue Crew Celebration

Archives

  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018

Categories

  • Events
  • Sponsors
  • Stories
  • Uncategorized
  • You support
  • Your Crew
  • Your Support

AIR RESCUE

  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • What We Do
  • Latest News
  • Life-Saving Stories
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

LET'S CONNECT

facebook-icon youtube-icon

STAY IN TOUCH

Sign up to our newsletter to get all the latest on our team, events, and campaigns.

Don’t worry, we don’t like spam either.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

SEARCH

2017 Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust | PO Box 20262 Bishopdale, Christchurch 8543, New Zealand | Phone 03 358 8244 | Web by hairyLemon Registered Charity CC23893
Air Rescue Donation X

The Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust (Charities Services #CC23893) is concerned with protecting the privacy of all personal information and no information will be passed onto a third party. The Trust collects and securely stores personal information to keep the community informed about our work. You can check your personal information or be removed as a subscriber at any time by contacting us on 03 358 8244 or supportcrew@ airrescue.co.nz. Any donation of $5 or more is tax deductible. We will send you a tax receipt by email. Thank you for supporting the Rescue Helicopters in Canterbury and on the West Coast - your support is greatly valued and saves lives.

WHERE YOUR DONATIONS GO

Ongoing training

Ongoing training

The initial cost to train a new Air Rescue crew member is $30,000, with ongoing training $25,000 per year

Operational costs

Operational costs

It contributes towards the cost of each life-saving mission, including fuel and crewing costs. Together, our community contributes approximately $5,000 towards the cost of every life-saving mission.

Air Rescue logos

2017 Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust | PO Box 20262 Bishopdale, Christchurch
8543, New Zealand | Phone 03 358 8244
Registered Charity CC23893