25-Mar-2024 Source: HELP Appeal
On March 19 a new, lifesaving helipad opens on the Isle of Mull – adjacent to the Mull and Iona Community Hospital – after the HELP Appeal, the only charity in the country dedicated to funding hospital helipads, donated £418,000 to cover the entire cost of its construction and lighting installation.
The news comes hard on the heels of the announcement that a new HELP Appeal funded helipad is currently being constructed on the Isle of Gigha by the 39 Engineers Regiment of the Corps of Royal Engineers.
After the HELP Appeal confirmed to Mull and Iona Community Hospital and Mull and Iona Community Trust that it would fund the entire project, TSL Contractors, began constructing the helipad in May 2023 on land donated by Andy and Naomi Knight. Mull and Iona Community Trust agreed to undertake responsibility from the outset to oversee the future condition and maintenance of the helipad.
The state-of-the-art helipad ensures that the Scottish Air Ambulance and larger HM Coastguard helicopters can land beside Mull and Iona Community Hospital any time of the day or night, which will avoid the need for a patient to be transferred by land ambulance to the Glenforsa airstrip, which is 15 minutes away by road. This ensures that specialist hospital treatment at another A&E hospital or Major Trauma Centre on the mainland can be accessed within the Golden Hour and thus improve patients’ outcomes.
Scott’s story
Air ambulance patient, Scott Paterson knows the importance of an emergency helipad more than most. He was a driver in the Mull Rally, the UK’s only closed-road rally where over 150 cars race around single track roads at high speed. Unfortunately, Scott lost control of his car, which careered down an embankment, rolling over several times. After his injuries were assessed at Mull and Iona Community Hospital, a decision was made to make an urgent transfer to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow. Despite Scott having double compression fractures in his spine, he had to be transferred by road ambulance from the hospital to Glenforsa airstrip, which took 15 mins over extremely bumpy terrain.
Scott explains,
“If the helipad had been available at Mull and Iona Hospital at the time of my accident, I could have had a smooth and quick transfer to Glasgow. Although the ambulance staff were incredible and looked after me so well, the bumpy journey to Glenforsa was very uncomfortable and I was so worried not knowing how bad my injuries were at the time or if they could become life changing or life threatening. This helipad is going to help so many people like me whenever they need immediate access to a specialist trauma centre.”
The helipad has a lighting system with settings for different weather conditions, which are 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.
Cheryl-Ann Paterson, NHS Highland’s Senior Charge Nurse for Mull & Iona, comments:
“We’re really grateful that the HELP Appeal has been so supportive by funding 100% of the cost of our new helipad. It is going to make such a difference to the health outcomes for our patients and the whole NHS Team across the island are united in their thanks.”
Robert Bertram, HELP Appeal’s Chief Executive adds:
“This helipad is a game changer for the local community. When you’re seriously ill, delaying a departure from the island to access treatment at a Major Trauma Hospital or A&E hospital on the mainland could have serious consequences. This new helipad dramatically speeds up that access meaning that many more lives could be saved and demonstrates the HELP Appeal’s commitment to Scotland with another lifesaving helipad.”
The HELP Appeal in Scotland
The HELP Appeal has funded or is funding 15 helipads in Scotland, including at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow; Raigmore Hospital, Inverness; Edinburgh Royal Infirmary; Western Isles Hospital, Stornoway; Campbeltown Hospital and in remote communities on the Isles of Barra and Arran. The charity has also donated £200,000 towards portable landing lights for Scotland’s Air Ambulance Service for 20 island locations across Scotland.
It has funded over 45 helipads across the UK, which have seen over 27,000 landings, with 50 more in the pipeline.
