West Coast
Rescue Helicopter

Our 24/7 emergency service is always on call
to save lives whenever we’re needed. We need to raise
$6 million each year To provide this critical service.
Your support helps ensure that we can continue to
offer this lifesaving service to our community.

The crew on the West Coast are often dealing with the most challenging of conditions and an average mission length is longer due to the vast distances. We are blessed to now have Westpac NZ as our associate sponsor; this new level of support underpins the service on the West Coast.  The Critical Care Paramedics on the coast are the highest qualified medical resource available for the community. In areas like the West Coast, when there is an emergency, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter is the only option and can be the difference between life and death.

Thank you to ROA Mining

We extend a 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 their community through their 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.

As well as fundraising to support missions on the West Coast we are working on a number of exciting projects to improve patient care and save more lives. Very soon, the existing BK-117 will be replaced with a state-of-the-art H145 helicopter that will have more advanced avionics. This will facilitate Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), allowing the crew to fly in lower cloud conditions, enabling the rescue helicopter to respond in more compromised weather conditions – a real game changer for the West Coast. This will be accompanied by equipment upgrades and advanced training, so the crew are fully prepared for all missions.

Supporting the West Coast Service

Mission support

Can you contribute to the cost of a mission or fund a lifesaving mission?

You can support a complete mission

1 mission- $5,000
2 missions – $10,000
4 missions – $20,000.
Or give a monthly gift – $20, $30, $50, or your choice

Special Projects Development Fund

• Instrument Flight Rules
• Medical Equipment
• Advanced Training