Hectic week for Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue chopper team

CHRISTMAS GREY: While whanau in Gisborne were enjoying a sunny Christmas Day, members of the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter team headed to a much cloudier Hicks Bay for one of the many missions flown during the week.

A near-drowning, a motor vehicle accident, a trauma injury and four medical events made up a hectic Christmas list for the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter in the week to the early hours of Boxing Day.

Those were not the only rescues flown in the region over that period. While the Tairāwhiti team were off-base, a further four missions were covered by crews from partner North Island rescue helicopter services.

The local team also flew two unreportable missions, taking the total number of completed responses flown in the region to 13 for the week.

“Our Tairāwhiti team offer an amazing service but the reality is they can’t be in two places at one time,” Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust chair Patrick Willock said.

“So we’re incredibly grateful to have back-up from out-of-region teams supported by our partner trusts under the Search and Rescue Services Ltd banner.”

The week started at 7.35am on Tuesday, December 19, when the Tairāwhiti rescue chopper responded to a medical event at Waipiro Bay. They flew the patient in a critical condition to Gisborne Hospital.

Around the same time the following day, they were dispatched to a medical event at Te Whare Hauora o Ngāti Porou/Te Puia Springs Hospital, this time flying the patient to Gisborne Hospital in a serious condition.

Saturday was a hectic day of flying with, at one point, four rescue helicopters in the region at the same time.

That was due to a domino effect that started at around 2pm when the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter was called from its Hastings base to help at the scene of a serious crash in the Waikato region.

Half an hour later the Eastland Rescue Helicopter was seconded to Hastings in response to a medical event. It flew the patient in a serious condition to Dannevirke for handover to the rescue helicopter crew dispatched to complete a transfer to Wellington.

That took the local aircraft off-base for nearly four hours. In that period, crews from partner North Island rescue helicopter services were dispatched to cover three missions in the Tairāwhiti region — an event inland from Manutuke (dispatched from Hastings at 4pm, patient flown to Gisborne Hospital); one at Ruatōria (dispatched from Rotorua at 4.50pm, patient flown to Gisborne Hospital); and another at Ruatōria (dispatched from Tauranga at 5.10pm, patient flown to Gisborne Hospital).

At 10.30am on Christmas Eve, the Tairāwhiti rescue chopper flew to Ruatoria in response to a motor vehicle accident. At 3pm, it was dispatched to Hicks Bay in response to a near-drowning.

Both patients were flown in stable conditions to Gisborne Hospital.

​While the team were in Hicks Bay, the Hastings crew returned to cover a mission to Tikitiki (dispatched 3.38pm).

On Christmas Day, the Trust Tairāwhiti rescue helicopter again flew to Hicks Bay — dispatched at 3pm in response to a trauma — with the patient flown in a stable condition to Gisborne Hospital.

At 3am on Boxing Day, the team was called to a medical event in Waipiro Bay, flying the patient in a stable condition to Gisborne Hospital.

“It is vital to operate a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service from our Gisborne hangar, but that does mean members of our team are away from their families and friends for special occasions like Christmas Day,” Mr Willock said.

“The demand is likely to be even stronger over the New Year period so, once again, we thank them for the life-saving service they offer our region every day of the year.”