The West Coast Westpac Rescue Helicopter is on call 24/7, serviced by a state-of-the-art H145 helicopter. Crews consist of a Critical Care Paramedic, a Paramedic / Winch Operator, and a pilot. The Critical Care Paramedics on the West Coast rescue helicopter are the only Critical Care Paramedics Coast-wide.
Often, West Coast crews deal with the most challenging of conditions. Average mission lengths are longer due to the vast distances. Medical events and accidents make up 59% of missions; search and rescue jobs 10%.
We are delighted to welcome Westpac NZ as our associate sponsor of the West Coast rescue helicopter; this new level of support underpins the service on the West Coast.
But we can’t do this alone – we need your support. And we promise, if you give to the West Coast, it stays on the West Coast.
Our most sincere thank you to ROA Mining for their significant support of the service over 13 years. Their generous commitment ensured that the West Coast community had access to this vital emergency response capability.
ROA Mining will continue to support its community through sponsorship of the New Zealand Flying Doctor Service. This sister service to the rescue helicopters is a regular visitor to the West Coast, transporting patients between hospitals to the higher acuity care they need.
Left to right โ Hernan, Peet, Joshua, Tom, Dazza
As well as fundraising to support West Coast missions we are supporting a number of exciting projects to improve patient care and ultimately save more lives.
The new Airbus H145 rescue helicopter we purchased for the West Coast has enabled the roll-out of Instrument Flight Rules. This upgrade allows the crew to fly in lower cloud conditions โ a real game changer for the West Coast. This has been accompanied by our investment in specialist equipment and advanced crew training, so that when the call comes, the crew are mission-ready.
Our Mission Support programme enables you to support a complete mission. Or perhaps being part of our regular giving programme is a better fit for you.
1 mission- $5,000
2 missions – $10,000
4 missions – $20,000.
Or give a monthly gift
If you have a special project you would like to support, such as for training or medical equipment, please get in touch.
Or, if you would like to leave a life-saving legacy to your rescue helicopter service, find out more about how you can leave a gift in your will.
The West Coast community is currently served by a twin engine H145.
| MAKE/MODEL | Airbus H145 |
| ENGINE | 2x turbomeca arriel 2E turboshaft |
| SHAFT HORSEPOWER | 1072 HP each engine (one engine inoperative) |
| CREW | 1 pilot, 1 critical care paramedic, 1 paramedic / winch operator |
| MAX SPEED | 278kph |
| CRUISE SPEED | 238kph |
| RANGE | 651 kilometres |
| SERVICE | 1 HELICOPTER AND CREW ON CALL 24/7 |
| MISSIONS | 300+ AVERAGE PER YEAR JUST ON THE WEST COAST |
Our community and corporate sponsors are greatly valued. Without their support our service would not be able to operate. The Canterbury West Coast Rescue Helicopter Trust gratefully acknowledges the following companies whose generous support contributes to the efficient operation of a viable FREE Rescue Helicopter Service in our region.
Last Saturday, two H145 rescue helicopters travelled to Lake Brunner for boat and water winch training.
Training like this helps the crew stay ready to respond when our communities need them most, and we couldnโt do it without the support of our community partners.
A huge thank you to @CoastguardWestCoast and Coastguard Lake Brunner for providing the boat, jet skis and people in the water; @LakeBrunnerEcoLodge for the use of their paddock for helicopter landings, refuelling and staging; and @ANZCO_Foods for supplying burgers to fuel the crew after training.
The weather put on a spectacular day, and we look forward to sharing more photos soon. Thank you for helping the crew stay ready.
Hey Coasters - looking for a great day out this weekend and a way to support your Westpac Rescue Helicopter?
Check out the Motorbike Show in Greymouth. Remarkable bikes from 1914 on will be on display, including a unique bike from the Mike Pero Motorcycle Gallery.
๐๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฏ๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ`๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ผ๐. ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ`๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐. ๐ข๐ป ๐ฆ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐.
It`s all on this Saturday 24 October from 12 pm - 9 pm and Sunday 25th from 10 am - 5 pm at the Regent Theatre, Greymouth.
And don`t forget your gold coin entry. All proceeds go to your Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
Rescue crews never know what each day will bring - they need to be trained for every eventuality.
Your support helps fund more than life-saving missions. It enables our significant investment in advanced crew training, ensuring rescue crews can deliver higher levels of patient care in even the most challenging of environments.
Hear Critical Care Paramedic Tom talk about why training is so important, and how it helps ensure crews have the skills, knowledge and confidence to provide the very best care when every minute matters.
Watch the full video here: https://www.airrescue.co.nz/howwesupporttheservice/
๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐, ๐๐๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐
๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐๐ฝ๐ฒ: ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐: ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐, ๐ฅ๐ผ๐ฑ, ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐
A mission to rescue a patient from dense bush was โslick asโ thanks to the West Coastโs new H145 rescue helicopter.
The patient, a contractor to the Stockton Mine, had a suspected fractured ankle.
Westpac Rescue Helicopter paramedic and winch operator Courtney says the patient was in pretty rugged country.
โThe rescue crew from the mine were with the patient but there was no way they were going to be able to get her out before dark. They did the right thing calling 111,โ Courtney says.
The West Coast Westpac Rescue Helicopter flew in using coordinates provided by the Stockton Emergency Response Team.
โWhen we flew in, we saw a site rescue member standing up on a skid site pointing us to a rough location. They had managed to move the patient to the biggest area of open space they could find โ it was a nice little hole we could winch Rod into.โ
That winch was made far easier thanks to the tail and rear mounted cameras on the new H145 helicopters, which were purchased for the rescue service by the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust.
โThe new rescue helicopter was awesome. Thanks to its cameras our pilot Chris had a great view of what was happening down the wire the whole time. It made the job far more efficient, safer and easier for the crew and the patient. It was slick as,โ Courtney says.
Once Courtney had winched Rod down to the patient, the helicopter flew to a staging area to wait. Rod assessed the patient on the ground before calling the helicopter back to winch him and the patient out. The patient was then flown to Te Nikau Grey Hospital for treatment.
After the mission was complete, the mineโs rescue team contacted the rescue helicopter crew to debrief.
โIt was awesome that they got in touch to review the job together. It gave us the chance to tell them that their Emergency Response Team did everything right โ they were great to work with.โ
Read more from your Westpac Rescue Helicopter at our website. See link in bio.
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