Further to release of last night:
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter ended up transporting all four patients from yesterday afternoons car accident south of
Featherston
The driver, a 38 year old Featherston woman, was transported, with a Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic, from the scene
of the accident to Wellington Hospital.
The helicopter then transported all three children who were in the car during the evening. A four year old boy was
transferred from Masterton Hospital to Wellington Hospital. A five year old boy was transported to Hutt Hospital and a
10 year old girl was transported to Wellington Hospital. All three children were cared for by a specialist ICU flight
doctor and nurse from Wellington ICU.
The four year old boy was transported to Starship Hospital, aboard the Auckland based Life Flight NZ fixed wing air
ambulance, in the early hours of the morning. The plane, with a Starship Paediatric Intensive Care team arrived in
Wellington about 1:00 this morning to further treat and then transport the boy back to Auckland.
Both the Life Flight NZ Air Ambulances and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter had an extremely busy day yesterday.
Between 8am Wednesday morning and 5am this morning:
- the Auckland based Life Flight NZ fixed wing air ambulance flew to Dunedin to retrieve a patient for Auckland
Hospital. On the way back to Auckland the team retrieved a second patient from Palmerston North who was also going to
Auckland Hospital. Finally the team retrieved the four year old boy (see above), arriving back in Auckland at about 5am.
- the Wellington based Life Flight NZ fixed wing air ambulance transported a cardiac patient from Hutt Hospital to
Auckland Hospital. The team then picked up a patient in Waikato Hospital to return to Hutt Hospital. The team then
returned a Neonatal baby back to Nelson Hospital and then retrieved a sick Neonatal baby from Palmerston North back to
Wellington Hospital.
- the Wellington based Westpac Rescue Helicopter returned a Neonatal baby to Wairau Hospital in Blenheim, followed by
the four transports of patients from the Featherston accident (see above)
ENDS.
http://www.lifeflight.org.nz