St Mary’s Hospital’s helipad has seen a total of 575 landings by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, Coastguard Rescue Helicopter and other life-saving services in just 4 years.
The helipad, which was officially launched in 2013 by HRH Duke of Kent, cost £1.45million to build. The Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads (HELP) Appeal, a national charity which relies entirely on public donations, contributed £250,000.
The 24-hour helipad currently enables patients with critical injuries and conditions to be flown directly from St Mary’s to mainland hospitals such as University Southampton Hospital, Queen Alexandra Hospital and even as far afield as London. It also enables those with less serious injuries who have been rescued by the Coastguard helicopter to be flown directly to the Island’s only hospital.
Robert Bertram, Chief Executive of the HELP Appeal said:
“It’s great to see how the helipad has made such a difference to a significant number of critically ill patients who were rescued from across the Isle of Wight and beyond.
“As their injuries were so severe, every second counted in getting them to the expert care they urgently needed. We are so proud that the HELP Appeal, through its donation, has helped the hospital achieve this for all of the patients affected over the past four years”.
More information on the HELP Appeal can be found at https://www.helpappeal.com/.
