Latest News from the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter

During the past week Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter was tasked to two AUSSAR beacon searches and two primary missions.

MISSION SUMMARY

Tuesday 25th January, Primary cancelled due to weather– Tasked to an MVA at Broadwater. Aircraft could not fly due to poor weather conditions. Retrieval doctor was transported to the scene by road.
Thursday 26th January, AUSSAR Search; Tasked by AUSSAR to search for an emergency beacon signal in the Grafton area. Tasked to start at the Clarence River mouth and search upstream and along feeder creeks. Searched the Yamba area then up the Clarence River to 5nm west of Grafton. Ground search conducted with hand held homer device. No signal found.
Thursday 26th, Primary, cancelled due to weather. Tasked to Glenreigh
Friday 27th January, AUSSAR Search; Beacon in the Nymboida River area. Two persons located on an isolated property. They had been without food for three days. The female t had chest pains following a fall. Both people and their dog were transported to Grafton Base Hospital.
Saturday 28th January – Primary – Tasked to a flood isolated property south west of Coutts Crossing. Transported an elderly male to Grafton Base Hospital with lower leg injuries.
Sunday 29th January – Primary – Tasked to a property at Bolivia – 30 kms south of Tenterfield were a male had been squashed by a horse. Male was stabilised and flown to Lismore Base Hospital.

Heavy rainfall and widespread flooding required us to seek the permission of OLGR to postpone our raffle draw scheduled for 3:00pm, 31 January 2012.   The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Raffle will now be drawn at 3:00pm , 1 February 2012.  This will ensure that all ticket stubs sold have been delivered and included in the draw.

In a very busy week, especially for Primary Missions, Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter attended 5 Primary missions and 5 Secondary missions.

Wednesday and Thursday were particularly busy with two ‘back to back’ Primary missions on Wednesday and a Primary mission on Thursday which saw the Helicopter on task for over 8 hours.

These particular primary missions occurred in the southern and northern areas, respectively, of our 40,000 square kilometre flight region.

Events coordinator Krystal Cox has promised an exciting year for the community rescue helicopter’s events.

“This year will be exciting as it is not only our 30th anniversary but we are launching a brand new event – the Ballina to Byron Bay Charity Walk,” Krystal said.

“We want to put the fun back into fundraising and our 2012 calendar of events will do just that.”

If you would like to assist with any of our events, please do give us a call, as there is sure to be a job you can help with.

2012 EVENTS CALENDAR

Wills Day – March 26-30

Ballina to Byron Bay Charity Walk – May 20

Diamonds and Pearls Gala Dinner, Coffs Harbour – June 16

Yellow Pages Lismore 4WD Caravan, Camping and Marine Show July 6-8

Yellow Pages Hell on Wheels Cycle Tour – October 13-20

Yellow Pages Charity Golf Day Ballina Nov 16

Trinity Drive Christmas Lights 13-24 December

If you would like to assist with any of our events, please do give us a call, as there is sure to be a job you can help with.

Do you need a Will drafted?

In the week 26 to 30 March, 2011 you can have a Will professionally drafted by a fully qualified solicitor. Whether you are updating an existing Will or making one for the first time, in only 20 minutes the solicitor can draft a Will to ensure your wishes are correctly recorded, giving you peace of mind.

Solicitors in Northern NSW are donating their time in support of the rescue helicopter and to assist people from the communities across the helicopter’s flight region.

If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please phone the Lismore Helibase office on 6627 4444.

BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL

When: Monday 26 March to Friday 30 March
Where: Lennox Head, Alstonville, Ballina, Casino, Kyogle,
Sawtell, Grafton, Lismore, Maclean, Tenterfield,
Yamba and Evans Head

Participating Solicitors

Parker & Kissane, Casino;
Trenches McKenzie Cox,
Mulcahy Lawyers,
Robson & Oliver,
Conroy Stewart Spagnolo,
Foott Law & Co,
Baker Mannering & Hart,
Jennings & Kneipp,
Pollack Greening & Hampshire,
McVittie Legal,
Liston and Clifton Law,
Mark Flynn & Associates

Monday 9th January to Sunday 15th January 2012

During the past week Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter attended a total of 9 missions – 8 of which were Secondary Inter Hospital Transfers. Three of these were carried out ‘back to back’ commencing at 4.15pm Wednesday through to 6am Thursday 11th January.

Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter has had a very busy 2 week period conducting a total of 19 missions, 9 Primary, 7 Secondary and 3 Search & Rescue.  In addition to these the Service was tasked to three primary missions which were all cancelled en route and also performed 8 training flights for pilots and aircrew.

In a quiet week for missions, Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter completed one search and rescue mission, a hospital transfer, and was tasked to three primary missions which were all cancelled en route.
Missions can be cancelled for a number of reasons which can include – patient being transferred by road; or injuries found to be not as serious as first thought.
Our missions and any cancellations are directed by the Medical Retrieval Unit (MRU) of the NSW Health Department who task the Service and assign relevant ambulance services as required.

Missions Summary: During the week Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter was tasked to assist police in two separate search and rescue operations off the coast.

On Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th December the Service joined in the search for a teenager missing in the surf off Cabarita Beach.

On Sunday 11th December the Service was tasked to assist police in the search for a person reported missing at Main Beach Byron Bay. The Helicopter searched the area from The Pass to Tyagarah and seaward for one kilometre and found no sign of the missing person.

Training:

New pilot underwent two training exercises.

Houses in Trinity Drive, Lismore will once again light up for Christmas and the Helicopter. From 12th to 24th December you can view this wonderful display and help support the rescue helicopter. Santa will be there with lollies for the kids along with helicopter crew and staff.  Summer season is usually the busiest time of the year when the Helicopter can fly between 6-7 missions a day. This leads to increased costs as the helicopters need to be serviced more frequently. Your donations will be greatly appreciated.