A lifesaving helipad at Mull and Iona Community Hospital has been boosted by a £400,000 donation from the Help Appeal.
The full cost of providing a helipad at Mull and Iona Community Hospital will be met by the charity.
Help (Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads) is the only charity in the country dedicated to funding hospital helipads. Last year more than 24,000 landings were made on its helipads.
The hospital near Craignure on Mull, is a 45-minute ferry journey away from Oban and around 15minutes away by road from Glenforsa airstrip, which is currently used for medical evacuations by helicopter.
Helipad will be near Mull hospital
By having a permanent, purpose-built hospital helipad, the Scottish Air Ambulance and larger HM Coastguard helicopters will be able to land right next to Mull and Iona Community hospital, which will avoid the need for a transfer by land ambulance to the airstrip.
This will ensure that specialist hospital treatment at another A&E hospital or major trauma centre can be accessed within the “golden hour” which is likely to improve patients’ outcomes.
The golden hour is a concept that critically injured patients are required to receive definitive care within 60minutes from sustaining injuries.
The helipad will have a modern lighting system with settings for different weather conditions.
It will be radio controlled by the incoming helicopter pilot, with a backup system at the nursing station in the hospital, enabling helicopter landings to take place around the clock.
The Helipad will be known as the Wilson-Thomson Helipad in recognition of the fundraising efforts of John Wilson and the late Dr. Bill Thomson without which Mull and Iona Community Hospital would not have been built.
Cheryl-Anne Paterson, NHS Highland senior charge nurse for Mull and Iona, said: “We are delighted that the hospital will soon have a helipad, the reduction in transfer time to mainland hospitals will significantly improve the life chances for our patients when they need specialist emergency treatment.”
Robert Bertram, Help Appeal’s chief executive said: “Helipads save lives and the community of Mull and Iona requested our help.
“We had no hesitation in supporting them and donating £400,000 for this vital helipad, because when patients need to be transferred for specialist treatment then it is really important that this is done as quickly as possible.”
Construction of the Helipad is underway by local firm TSL Contractors Ltd and is due for completion in summer 2023.
Find out more about the Help Appeal by clicking here.
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