Your Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Greenlea Rescue Helicopter completed 150 missions to the King Country throughout 2021. Your Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew carried out 108 missions to King Country, and your Greenlea Rescue Helicopter crew carried out the remaining 42, including to location such as Kawhia, Taumarunui, Te Kuiti and Marokopa. Taumarunui was the largest hotspot of the year, seeing 58 missions being flown to the region. Ōtorohanga being the second largest hotspot, with 14 missions being flown, and next being Kawhia with 10 total missions flown.

Of the total King Country missions, your rescue helicopter crews carried out 55 inter-hospital transfers, getting patients to where they need to be as soon as possible, often for specialised care. 19 motor vehicle accidents were responded to within the King Country region, 3 of these being accidents involving trucks and 1 involving a motorcycle.

Your rescue helicopter can reach patients in need, even in hard-to-reach area, much faster than a road ambulance. A total of 40 missions took place in rural/remote King Country, 25 of these being accidents, 3 animal-related and 12 medical events.

On February 6, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter attended a motor vehicle accident involving three cars near Kawhia. Six people sustained injuries from the accident, and two of those patients were airlifted to hospital by the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopters.

On Sunday, March 14, the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter was tasked to Te Kuiti for a female patient in her twenties suffering birthing complications. The patient was flown to Waikato Hospital.

On Saturday, April 17, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to a motor vehicle accident in Ōtorohanga. The patient, a male motorcyclist, was transported to Waikato Hospital. That same day, the onboard crew attended to an injured horse rider near Waharoa, a rural community in the Waikato region. The patient was transported to Waikato Hospital.

In the afternoon of Tuesday, May 11, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter returned to Ōtorohanga for a motor vehicle accident in Ōtorohanga. The female patient had sustained serious injuries that required immediate care. The onboard crew treated the patient at the scene before flying her to Waikato Hospital.

In the afternoon of Thursday, May 20, the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter responded to a call out to Taumarunui for a patient who had sustained burns during a house fire. The onboard crew transported the patient to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

Tuesday, June 29 saw the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter attending to a motor vehicle accident on state highway 3, south of Te Kuiti. The patient was a male in his sixties who had sustained serious injuries. The onboard crew flew him to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

On July 23, the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter responded to a call out to Taumarunui for an infant who required time-critical transport. The young patient was flown to Waikato Hospital in a stable condition.

Late-night on Saturday, August 21, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter assisted a female patient in her sixties who had sustained injuries from a fall in Te Kuiti. She was flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

Christmas Eve saw your Greenlea Rescue Helicopter crew being dispatched to the Kawhia area for a toddler with an acute medical condition that needed transportation. The young patient was airlifted to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

You never know when you might need a rescue helicopter. Keep missions like these available to you and your loved ones in the King Country this year by donating to your rescue helicopter today. Head to rescue.org.nz to make a donation.

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