Your Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter carried out a total of 77 missions to the Waikato, King Country, Coromandel and surrounding regions over the month of January. Included in those missions were 44 inter-hospital transfers, 14 medical events, 7 motor vehicle accidents, 3 rescues and 9 were to rural or remote locations. The rescue helicopter was seen in the likes of Otorohanga, Thames, Whangamata and Matamata during the month.

With kiwis out making the most of the warm weather and sunshine, your Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew remained on standby all summer, so that they could be there for patients in need, no matter when or where. 73% of missions your rescue helicopter was called to were for injuries rather than illnesses and 21 missions to the Coromandel over the month of January.

Friday January 7 saw the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew assisting a man in his 50’s who had sustained injuries from a motorcycle accident at Kariotahi Beach. The onboard crew transported the patient to Middlemore Hospital. The same day, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter responded to a woman in her 20’s who had sustained a lower leg injury on the Pukemokemoke Reserve bush walk. The woman was winched from her location and transported to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

On Monday, January 10, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to Ngatira for a horse-riding incident where a woman in her 50’s suffered severe injuries to her leg and hip. She was flown, accompanied by her daughter, to Waikato Hospital.

A motorcycle accident in Ōtorohanga on January 14 led to the Waikato Westpac Helicopter being at the scene to assist a man in his 20’s with serious injuries. He was flown to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition.

Your Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew conducted a beacon search in the Gisborne area after a logging incident on January 17. Once the patient was located, the onboard crew determined he had sustained rib and hip injuries and he was winched from his location and transported to Waikato Hospital.

The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter assisted multiple patients in the Coromandel, Hauraki and surrounding areas in January, including a man in his 30s who had fallen down a bank, sustaining an ankle injury in Waihi on January 20. The patient was flown to Tauranga Hospital for further treatment. The onboard crew also attended to an infant who had suffered from a medical event in Paeroa on January 31. The young patient and her mother were flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

A winch rescue on the popular Hakarimata Track in Ngāruawāhia was carried out by the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew on January 23. A woman in her 50’s had fallen on the track, sustaining an ankle injury. She was winched from her location and flown to Waikato Hospital. The same day, your rescue crew returned to Ōtorohanga, responding to a motor vehicle accident that involved a single vehicle. The driver had sustained serious injuries in the accident and was airlifted to Waikato Hospital for further treatment. The helicopter was later seen in Kerepehi assisting a young boy who sustained injuries in a dirt bike accident. He was transported, accompanied by his father, to Waikato Hospital.

Your Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter relies on generous donations to help fund these life-saving missions. Give the gift of time this summer and donate to your rescue helicopter crew at www.rescue.org.nz.

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