Starship's new air ambulance unveiled

Starship's flight team have welcomed a new air ambulance, decked in a starry blue getup and equipped with a range of life-saving, state-of-the-art equipment.

The Skyline Aviation-operated plane flew into Auckland airport, landing in front of an expectant crowd of supporters at this morning's welcome ceremony.

As it taxied into the small hangar, with three flight nurses and a long-time Starship Foundation donor on-board, it was christened with streams of water from two fire engines.

The new Starship National Air Ambulance Service plane, a King Air 350 turbo prop, will be faster and quieter than its predecessor and has on-board some of the newest technology in aviation and medical equipment.

Its exterior, designed by ad-agency Republik, features doctors, nurses, patients, rockets, planets and stars on a bright blue background.

Starship Foundation chief executive Brad Clark said it was about making parents and children as comfortable as possible.

"We wanted to make the plane look friendly for kids in what must be a scary time," he said. "The design has done this?they have captured the essence of Starship, it is clearly a Starship-branded plane."

Starship paediatric intensive care doctor, Dr David Buckley, who was involved in the management of the medical flight team, said the plane was a "beautiful, state-of-the-art, new plane" that would enable sick children to be transported safely and quickly.

"This plane makes it easier to do longer haul flights and even to Australia if needed," he said. "We are virtually carrying a mobile intensive care service."

The air ambulance, which is part of a 24/7, seven days a week service, flies around the country and to places in the Pacific and Australia.

It is used to retrieve babies and children who are sick or injured, bringing them back to Starship for treatment in the Paediatric or Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

The on-board specialists, which include specially-trained flight nurses and doctors, work to stabilise the child before bringing them on-board for transport.

Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) nurse Di Fuller, who has been on the flight team for 14 years, said the new plane was vital to her work.

"The goal is to get the kids as stable as possible to ensure there are as few problems as possible in flight - but that doesn't mean they will behave once you are on-board," she said. "If you know you've got good equipment, it makes our ability to look after children safer.

She added work as a PICU nurse was hard.

"It's not just a taxi service," she said. "It is intensive care in the air - you need to concentrate and be on the ball all the time."

• Starship National Air Ambulance Service transports around 300 patients a year

• It can travel around the country, the Pacific and Australia.

• The new plane can fly at speeds of up to 300 knots

• Starship Foundation raises $1.5 million dollars annually to fund this service