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New helipad for Western Isles Hospital

HELP Appeal Press Release | June 29, 2016

Estimated reading time 5 minutes, 20 seconds.

The emergency helicopter landing pad at Western Isles Hospital in Stornaway has had a state-of-the-art upgrade thanks to a £40,000 (US$53,892) donation from HELP Appeal. HELP Appeal Photo
The emergency helicopter landing pad at Western Isles Hospital in Stornaway has had a state-of-the-art upgrade thanks to a £40,000 (US$53,892) donation from HELP Appeal. HELP Appeal Photo
The emergency helicopter landing pad at Western Isles Hospital in Stornaway has had a state-of-the-art upgrade thanks to a £40,000 (US$54,000) donation from HELP Appeal — the only charity in the U.K. dedicated to funding the construction of hospital helipads.

NHS Western Isles received the surprise cash injection from HELP Appeal after the charity’s chief executive Robert Bertram read about the current state of the hospital’s helipad in a local newspaper article. The need for an upgrade became obvious in July during a test landing of the new Bond helicopters, which were being brought into service by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The stretchers on board these helicopters have automatic drop-down wheels, which were incompatible with the surface, potentially causing vital time to be lost during emergency transfers.

At the time, NHS Western Isles chief executive Gordon Jamieson said the health board would be speaking to the ambulance service about options for upgrading the helipad — only to then get an approach, out of the blue, from the HELP Appeal.

It has been giving out grants for helipad projects since 2009. The Stornaway one is its third project in Scotland, after a £700,000 (US$944,000) donation towards the helipad at the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. A similar one is in the pipeline for Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in 2017, and last year HELP Appeal funded a new helipad for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance base at Perth.

“We had no hesitation in donating £40,000 to cover the entire cost of Western Isles Hospital’s helipad upgrade,” said Bertram. “Following our pledges of £700,000 to both Glasgow and Edinburgh’s hospital helipads, the Western Isles are the furthest north we’ve ever been and we hope the upgrade will make a huge difference for seriously ill patients and trauma patients needing treatment at Stornoway Hospital.”

“Faced with extreme weather conditions on a regular basis, never was a hospital helipad so deserving of an upgrade,” added Bertram. “Our donation has helped to ensure a secure and solid landing area for all air ambulances and the Coastguard search-and-rescue helicopter that will withstand any future storms all the way through to Wendy and beyond.

“I read an article in the local newspaper saying how Western Isles Hospital urgently needed to upgrade its helipad. We have people supporting us all over the country, including Scotland, so it’s important to help save lives wherever there is a need.”

“Western Isles Hospital helipad needed an upgrade urgently. The poor state of the air ambulance landing area meant that vital time was being lost in rushing critically ill patients to mainland hospitals. The hospital stretchers also risked getting stuck in the soft grass when patients were being transferred. This compelled me to get in touch straight away with Western Isles Hospital’s CEO.”

Bertram said HELP Appeal was “always on the lookout” for hospitals that needed help with their helipads. They also help with feasibility studies, as well as the grants. And they do all this without any funding from the government or The National Lottery, being instead reliant solely on donations from the public.

“The charity made contact with us to make us aware of their work,” said Bertram. “They stepped forward and were very positive from the word go that they could at least contribute to the upgrade.

“What actually happened was that the charity funded the complete works associated with bringing the helipad up to the right standard. I can only thank them most sincerely for their kindness, for making themselves known to us and then funding the work in its entirety.

“They had a no-nonsense, straightforward approach. They were very quick to make decisions, very prompt in their responses and very positive. All round, I found it a very positive and somewhat humbling experience and one for which I will always remain grateful,” he added.

“The stretcher wheels would not traverse grass so this was a problem in terms of getting any patient on and off the helicopter and to the edge of the pad. Now the helicopter can land, open the door and out comes the stretcher. It may sound dramatic but every second counts, it really does, when a patient needs evacuated.

“The quicker the transition to and from the helicopter can be, it can give us vital minutes, which are extremely important to patients in terms of eventual outcome.”

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