Helicopter rescue teams busy over holiday break

An Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Trust helicopter leaves the Dunedin Hospital helipad yesterday. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN

While South Islanders enjoyed their summer breaks, it was "business as usual" for emergency helicopter medics in Otago.

While workplaces around the region operated on skeleton staff or closed for the break, Helicopters Otago Ltd managing director Graeme Gale and his team were treating the holiday season as they would any other time of the year.

"We’ve got quite a number of machines all fully crewed with pilots and paramedics, and we’re winch-capable in all bases," Mr Gale said.

"It’s a big region we’re covering and there’s a lot of people off to Central Otago during this time of the year, as well as doing a lot of hospital transfers.

"It’s made it quite a busy, busy time."

Over the holiday period, which ran from December 22 to yesterday, the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter service was called out to 90 incidents, which included accidents, medical and maternity cases, search and rescues, and hospital transfers all around the South.

Of the 90 callouts, more than 30 were to accidents in Otago.

Mr Gale said the increase was standard for this time of the year.

"It’s always busy when we get around New Year."

He said it had probably got slightly busier post-Covid.

"We’ve had a couple of quite serious car accidents in our region that we’ve attended with multiple machines, as well as people being swept out in the back country that have got into trouble."