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.ย 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.
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.
Left to right โ Hernan, Peet, Joshua, Tom, Dazza
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 โ 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.
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
The West Coast community is currently served by a twin engine H145.
| MAKE/MODEL | Airbus H145 |
| ENGINE | 2x turbomeca arriel 2E turboshaft |
| SHAFT HORSEPOWER | 1072 HP each engine (one engine inoperative) |
| CREW | 1 pilot, 1 critical care paramedic, 1 paramedic / winch operator |
| MAX SPEED | 278kph |
| CRUISE SPEED | 238kph |
| RANGE | 651 kilometres |
| SERVICE | 1 HELICOPTER AND CREW ON CALL 24/7 |
| MISSIONS | 300+ AVERAGE PER YEAR JUST ON THE WEST COAST |
Our community and corporate sponsors are greatly valued. Without their support our service would not be able to operate. The Canterbury West Coast Rescue Helicopter Trust gratefully acknowledges the following companies whose generous support contributes to the efficient operation of a viable FREE Rescue Helicopter Service in our region.
๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: @Brokenriver
๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐๐ฝ๐ฒ: ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐: ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐, ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ผ, ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐
A ski tow accident left a young boy with a back injury. The Westpac Rescue Helicopter was the only way to get him safely off the mountain.
The rescue helicopter crew were finishing another mission when they were called to Broken River, a club ski field located in the Craigieburn Range, in the heart of the Southern Alps.
โIt was a beautiful day โ one of the best of the season,โ says Courtney, a paramedic on the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
The young boy had been injured on a ski tow, suffering hyperextension injury, where the rope tow yanked him forward fast and he flexed backwards.
โThese injuries can be serious. An ambulance canโt get up to Broken River so the rescue helicopter really is the only way to get the patient quickly and safely to specialist care,โ Courtney says.
Ski patrollers prepared for the helicopterโs arrival, making a landing zone by packing down snow and spraying a large โHโ on the landing spot.
โLanding on soft, knee-deep snow can be challenging, but the patrollers did an awesome job preparing the site to make it as easy as possible for us to land.โ
The stretcher from the helicopter was placed on a patroller ski sled. Ski patrollers and the rescue crew used the sled to get the stretcher to the medical room, where the young boy was waiting, and to then transport him back to the helicopter.
โThis mission highlighted the strength of teamwork, with our team and the Broken River crew combining their skills and expertise to overcome the challenges of this remote landscape and get this young boy to Christchurch Hospital as quickly as possible.โ
Find out more about the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and its missions through the link in our bio.
Eight-year-old Indi was at home in the remote West Coast town of Little Wanganui when she had multiple seizures.
She needed critical care, urgently.
โ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด. ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐น๐.โ
๐๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ, ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ`๐ ๐บ๐๐บ.
When minutes matter and critical care is needed, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter is a lifeline for our Canterbury and West Coast communities.
Read Indi`s full story here: https://loom.ly/ljSXNw0
Carolyn remembers nothing of the car crash that nearly took her life, but she remembers being in the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
Now the 75-year-old is giving back to the service that saved her, walking 100 km to get Back to Base.
โ๐ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐
๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ-๐ผ๐ฟ-๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ."
Can you give Carolyn`s fundraising efforts a boost and donate to her campaign?
Read her story and donate today. See the Stories tab on the Back to Base website. Link in bio
Rescuing someone from a moving boat is one of the most technical and challenging winch missions. Thatโs why, twice every year, rescue crews practise it.
At a recent training exercise, critical care paramedics were winched down to a Lyttelton Port Company pilot boat and then brought back up to the helicopter.
For the winch operator, who manages the winch from the side of the helicopter, itโs incredibly challenging. The swell of the ocean moves the boat up and down, and side to side. Boats also come with many obstacles, such as masts, aerials. and cables, which the winch operator needs to avoid.
And while carrying out the winch, the pilot needs to match the speed of the helicopter with the speed of the boat down below.
A successful boat winch requires skill, precision, and teamwork. Itโs challenging work but, when an emergency strikes, itโs vital that rescue crews can respond with competence and confidence.
Training like this makes sure that happens.
A huge thank you to the Lyttelton Port Company and Coastguard for supporting us with our boat winch and water rescue training exercises.
Find out more from the Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew. See the Latest News link on our Linktree.
@lytteltonport @coastguardnz
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