The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter Completes 534 Life-saving Missions In 2024

The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter has concluded another successful year, carrying out a total of 534 missions in 2024. That’s a 2% increase on the number of missions performed in 2023.

These missions included 222 inter-hospital transfers, almost 60 medical missions, 90 rural or remote incidents, over 40 motor vehicle accidents, 19 rescues and 101 other missions.

Among the hospitals, Taupo Hospital was the top transported from with the rescue crew being tasked to perform an inter-hospital transfer from that location 83 times. This was closely followed by Rotorua Hospital which received 65 missions, and Taumarunui Hospital with 27.

April was the busiest month of the year, with 56 life-saving missions being completed.

The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter was involved in 19 rescue missions last year. In the first month of the year, the rescue helicopter crew were tasked to Mt Tauhara for a woman in her 20s who had slipped and fallen whilst hiking. The patient had sustained fracture injuries and was unable to continue the walk. The onboard crew winched the patient out and transported the patient to Taupo Hospital for further treatment.

Mid-year in August, the rescue helicopter was dispatched to Whakarewarewa Forrest (The Redwoods) for a male in his 30s who sustained serious injuries after falling while mountain biking downhill. Due to the remote location, the patient required extraction via winch. The Critical Care Flight Paramedic (CCFP) was first lowered down to the patient, where they treated his injuries before preparing him for extraction in a stretcher. The patient was then transported to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

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The Greenlea Rescue Helicopter completed 90 rural/remote missions last year, providing critical care to patients in hard-to-reach locations. These missions largely involved hiking injuries, motorbike injuries, ski-injuries and farm related injuries.

One of these missions took place in August where the rescue helicopter crew were tasked to Iwikau, Whakapapa ski field, for a male in his 50s who sustained serious fracture injuries after a skiing incident. The patient was stabilised by the onboard Critical Care Flight Paramedic (CCFP) before being swiftly transported to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.

Another significant rural mission occurred in May when the rescue helicopter responded to a quad bike incident that involved a 40m fall. A male in his 50s, who had sustained serious injuries, was transported to Hastings Hospital for further treatment. The rescue helicopter crew then returned to the scene for a male in his 40s who had sustained multiple fracture injuries. The patient was also transported to Hastings Hospital for further treatment.

Throughout the year of 2024, the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter responded to 44 motor vehicle accidents. November and May being the months with the highest number of callouts, with November having 12 MVA missions and May having 8. One of these MVA missions involved the crew responding to a male in his 60s who had sustained traumatic leg injuries after a MVA in Waipawa. The patient was transported to Wellington for further treatment, following stabilisation from the onboard Critical Care Flight Paramedic.

Overall, 2024 was a busy year for the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter which has been serving the Central Plateau and Lakes regions since its inception in 1985. This essential service operates 24/7, 365 days a year, with a dedicated crew of highly trained Pilots, Air Crew Officers, and Critical Care Flight Paramedics who provide timely and life-saving assistance when it matters the most.

This year marks the end of an era with the iconic BK117 Greenlea Rescue Helicopter being replaced with an Airbus H145 twin-engine rescue helicopter that will be joining the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter operations family in April 2025. Funding is already underway to equip this beautiful rescue helicopter with a vital rescue winch. Thanks to the amazing support from the community and the generosity of the team at the Greenlea Foundation Trust, $429,687 has already been raised toward the total of $616,071!

If you want to double the impact for your community, donate to your Greenlea Rescue Helicopter and have it doubled by the Greenlea Foundation Trust – https://give.rescue.org.nz/event/greenlea-winch/donate

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