A £600,000 upgrade of Raigmore Hospital’s helipad has been completed.
Health chiefs said the landing pad is now fully operational and equipped to meet increasing demands.
On average, over 500 flights each year take place from the vital helipad with works conducted allowing for larger aircraft to land at the site, as well as increasing the size of the landing site and upgrading the illuminations which safely guide in helicopters during emergency situations.
Dr Andrew Rowlands, consultant in emergency medicine and clinical lead for the Emergency Department at Raigmore, welcomed the investment and upgrade works.
He said: “The helipad at Raigmore Hospital serves as an essential time and lifesaving facility on which the entire population of the Highlands and Islands may depend, not only due to the enormous area served by NHS Highland but also the distance covered and the remote locations.
“The upgrade to the helipad will ensure that what we have on site is fit for the future, the difference between what we had and what we have now is quite impressive.”
Funding for the project has been made possible through a financial grant of £480,000 offered to NHS Highland from the Help Appeal – the only UK charity dedicated to funding hospital helipads, with the remaining £120,000 gathered from the Highland Health Board Endowment Fund.
Robert Bertram, chief executive of the Help Appeal said: “This is the charity’s first completed helipad project for 2019. I am delighted that the helipad has been upgraded and is now fit for purpose to receive patients from across the region. We look forward to funding the build and modernisation of many more hospital helipads across Scotland.”
In total, the work carried out by Kier Construction, took three months to complete.
NHS Highland board member Ann Pascoe said: “As trustees, the bottom line for us is that any successful application must clearly demonstrate patient benefit.
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“In this case, the criteria were fulfilled not only from a Raigmore perspective, but also for those rural patients who have cause to use the hospital. I am delighted that we were in a position to fund the helipad application.”
Previously, works conducted by the Help Appeal has seen the upgrade of helipads at Portree Hospital on Skye and the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway.
Future projects under the scheme are earmarked for further north hospitals, with options over potential upgrades of the helipads at the MacKinnon Memorial Hospital in Broadford on Skye and Orkney’s Balfour Hospital due to be explored.
