The Tenterfield community will benefit from round-the-clock availability of the NSW Ambulance helicopters located at the Lismore base, thanks to funding in the 2017/18 Budget for an additional doctor and paramedic.
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“This funding will be used to recruit an additional medical team of doctor and paramedic for our helicopter base,” Lismore MP Thomas George said.
“This means the base will be operating 24/7.”
The Helicopter Retrieval Network was designed to ensure the delivery of safe, sustainable care to patients across the state, improve medical coverage for rural, metro, regional and remote patients, and improve patient health outcomes.
“Our helicopter and medical team do much more than just rescue and retrieval,” Mr George said.
“It takes critical care, intensive care, to the patient, wherever they are, and the medical team can deliver that care mid-air on the way to hospital.”
Aeromedical responses are complex and can be hazardous. A medical team trains for every possibility, with a primary focus on the safety of the crew and patients.
In NSW, a fleet of Agusta Westland 139 helicopters allows the medical teams to reach patients even further away from the base than previously and in a shorter time.
