A function to highlight the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter service was held in Invercargill yesterday.
About 60 business leaders, mayors, representatives from funding organisations and representatives from service clubs attended to showcase the service in Southland.
Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Trust chairman Martin Dippie said as about 30% of its flights originated in the region, it wanted to promote its services there.
Formerly named the Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust, it recently added to its title to properly reflect its scope.
The board of trustees were all volunteers, and its goal was to raise funds to meet the shortfall between central government funding and the cost of the operation, Mr Dippie said.
"The community fundraising is anywhere between one to one and a-half million dollars," he said.
"A big part of that is providing additional equipment over and above the baseline contract — so there's medical equipment that goes in the back of the helicopters, things like incubators and night vision goggles, and in more recent times, we've done the IFR [instrument flight rules] routes so machines can fly in bad weather conditions and ice and at night."
While fundraising could often be a challenge, he was thankful for the strong support from the community, especially the rural areas, Mr Dippie said.
"If you're going to live in an isolated area, [rescue helicopters] really are a massive lifeline.
"We are very proud of how we can help out people in need, and I think that does strike a chord with the communities."
Graeme Gale, chief executive of Helicopters Otago, which supplies the rescue helicopter service for the lower part of the South Island, said the operation was a very important part of the health system of the lower South Island.
"With this, you end up with direct access to intensive care staff that we bring on board, we bring in intensive care paramedics and we also take a very short time to get to the destination hospital — and that may not be Dunedin, that may be Christchurch," he said.
"It’s a vitally important piece of service for our local community."
