The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter completed a total of 58 missions over the month of August, and even throughout the nationwide lockdown, missions were unabating and your rescue crew continued to positively impact patients’ lives daily. Throughout August, 26 inter-hospital transfers, 21 medicals, 9 rescues and 3 motor vehicle accidents were attended to. Your rescue crews assisted patients in locations across the Waikato, Coromandel and King Country, such as Whangamata, Tairua, Whitianga, Te Aroha and Colville.

The beginning of August saw your rescue helicopter in Te Aroha for a baby experiencing breathing difficulties on Monday, August 2. The onboard crew flew the patient, with their mother alongside, to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

The following day, Tuesday, August 3, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew were tasked to Whitianga for a patient in their seventies suffering a cardiac event. The patient was also flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment. Later that day, a motor vehicle accident just north of Amodeo Bay led to the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter being dispatched to assist the driver, who luckily managed to escape and call for help after his car had plunged off a bend and dropped approximately 15m onto rocks. The onboard crew flew the patient to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition.

On Thursday, August 5, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to a farm in Ohura for a patient in their seventies suffering a medical event. They were later dispatched to Thames for another patient in their seventies suffering abdominal pain. Both patients were flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

A female patient suffering seizures in Te Aroha was assisted by the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew on Wednesday, August 11. The onboard crew transported her to Waikato Hospital for further treatment. The same day, the onboard crew treated a female patient in her eighties who had collapsed unconscious in Tairua. The onboard crew RSI’d (Rapid Sequence Intubation) the patient before flying her to Waikato Hospital.

Thursday, August 12 was a busy day for your rescue crew, visiting Whitianga, Hahei and Putaruru. The helicopter was tasked to Whitianga for a patient in their sixties suffering a serious cardiac event that required urgent transportation. They then attended to a male patient in his seventies in Hahei, on the Coromandel Peninsula, who was experiencing severe abdominal pain. Later that evening, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to Putaruru for a male patient in his eighties who had sustained serious head injuries from a fall. All three patients were flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

Three motor vehicle accidents were responded to by your rescue crew over August. On Monday, August 16, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter responded to a motor vehicle accident involving a van and three occupants in Waitomo. Two passengers had sustained injuries and were treated at the scene. On Wednesday, August 18, the rescue crew responded to another motor vehicle accident in Taumarunui. One patient in their forties has sustained serious injuries and was flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment. On the evening of Sunday August 22, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to Tokoroa for a male patient in his twenties who had sustained injuries following a single-vehicle motorcycle accident. The patient was transported to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

August ended with a mission to Mamaku for a patient that required urgent medical care. Later that evening, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to Tauranga Hospital for a female patient in her sixties suffering a medical event. Both patients were flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

Donations are what keep missions like these possible. Help the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter continue to save lives by donating today at rescue.org.nz.

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