The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service was called out 24 times in four days over the Easter Long Weekend, and a further eight times since Tuesday. With such a significant increase in call-outs, CEO of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service Richard Jones OAM has issued a public reminder to stay safe this weekend.
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"That was among the busiest weekends on record for our service, our helicopter crews responded around the clock to emergency calls throughout Northern NSW and were kept busy at each of our three bases in Belmont, Tamworth and Lismore," he said.
"With this recent run of good weather and the Easter holiday period, so many people are out enjoying the great outdoors. This means more people are on the roads, in the ocean, on farms and enjoying all kinds of recreational activities."
Crews have been responsible for primary emergency response to scenes, inter-hospital medical transfers and also search and rescue missions both offshore and inland.
Westpac Rescue Helicopters are on standby 24-7 from three bases with medical professionals from NSW Ambulance and the NSW Health Local Health District on every flight.
"Our role in the emergency services chain is to fly critical care medical teams direct to patients as fast and safe as possible, as well as providing urgent transport back to hospitals," Jones said.
"We're just one link in the chain of emergency services, but after such a busy period for all in the chain, we're urging our community to stay safe."
