Taranaki Rescue Helicopter and Taranaki Air Ambulance to join forces

Patient care in the air has a new look in Taranaki as the region’s two air medical services join forces as Medi-Flight Taranaki.

The charitable trusts behind Taranaki’s emergency Rescue Helicopter service and Air Ambulance services have merged to form a single charitable trust now responsible for the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter and Taranaki Air Ambulance.

Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust Chairperson Evan Cottam said the decision to merge will benefit the local community by streamlining air services in the region and facilitate a better use of resources.

“Both the Rescue Helicopter and Air Ambulance are critical components of the region’s health infrastructure. By merging these services under one organisation, it will offer better coordination and pool resources, which will benefit our community,” said Cottam.

Cottam said offering efficient, world-class patient care has always been the guiding ethos for both organisations and would remain the key focus for Medi-Flight Taranaki.

“The Taranaki community can continue to rely on having access to critical rescue and medical services when they need it, whether that’s by the first responders at the scene of an accident or medical emergency, or transport to access specialist medical care not available in Taranaki.

“It will still be the same faces ready to leap into action in the event of a rescue, medical emergency or patient transfer.”

Taranaki Air Ambulance Trust Chairperson Christina Houghton said a single organisation could make better use of available resources, enhance fundraising activity across the region and streamline access to central funding.

“The Taranaki community has been very supportive of both organisations in the past, and this makes it easier to donate and support one local air medical service. Forming Medi-Flight Taranaki means an improved fundraising model that reduces duplicating appeals across the community,” said Houghton.

As part of the merger, and due to the continued expansion of Taranaki Base Hospital, the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter will also be relocating to the existing patient flight facility at New Plymouth Airport and will co-locate with the fixed wing Air Ambulance.

Taranaki Base Hospital has informed the organisation that the current hangar site will be repurposed and that a helicopter pad, on the roof of the new hospital, will remain available for all incoming helicopters to deliver or pick-up patients.

The assets of the two trusts, that include hangars as well as vehicles and medical equipment will ultimately transfer to Medi-Flight Taranaki Charitable Trust.

As part of the Rescue Helicopter relocation, Medi-Flight Taranaki would be fundraising in coming months to modify the current hangar to create an accommodation block for helicopter flight crews, who are on-site 24/7.

“When an emergency happens, every second counts. Our staff need to be onsite and ready to respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” said Cottam.

“We’ve got an $800,000 fundraising goal for an extension to our airport hangar, which will add multiple bedrooms and a lounge for the rescue team.”

Cottam said Medi-Flight Taranaki was already well on its way to reaching this goal thanks to a generous bequest left for the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter by Derek and Meryle Roberts, whom the new accommodation block will be named after.

Cottam was voted in as the inaugural Chairperson of Medi-Flight Taranaki earlier this week.

About Taranaki’s air medical services

Taranaki’s Rescue Helicopter service is an air rescue and medical response unit that can respond quickly to emergency situations by bringing medics and rescue personnel directly to scene. It also offers inter-hospital transport for specialist emergency care.

The fixed wing Air Ambulance planes specialises in long-range inter-hospital transfers, providing access for those who live in Taranaki to specialist hospital care anywhere in New Zealand.

Taranaki’s air medical services by the numbers:

In the period spanning September ‘23 – ’24: 

Taranaki Rescue Helicopter	Taranaki Air Ambulance
MISSIONS LAST 12 MONTHS: 174 inter-hospital transfers 109 emergency, accident and medical responses 421 hours of flight time 301 missions	MISSIONS LAST 12 MONTHS: 405 flights across New Zealand 493 hours of flight time