It’s been an extremely busy period over the past 18 hours for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service (WRHS).
The organisation was called into action to airlift five people from separate pre-hospital emergency situations at Laguna, Nowendoc, Merriwa, Bulahdelah and Monkerai.
On Saturday afternoon 15 May, a man in his late 40s was seriously injured in a motorbike incident near Great North Road and Murrays Run Road in Laguna, within the Cessnock LGA.
He was conveyed to hospital but later died.
About the same time, a second aircrew attended a single vehicle incident on the Thunderbolts Way approximately 20km south of Nowendoc.
A man, also in his 50s, was airlifted to Tamworth Base Hospital in a stable condition.
Earlier on 15 May, about 9am, a gentleman in his 60s sustained serious injuries in Merriwa when he fell from his horse.
The animal then rolled on to the man compounding his multiple injuries.
He was treated at the scene by local emergency services and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service’s Critical Care Medical Team before being flown to the John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition.
About midnight on Friday 14 May, the Belmont-based aircrew was tasked to Bulahdelah to assist a female in her 30s.
The woman had earlier in the evening been injured in a heavy tackle during a soccer match, suffering neck pain.
The chopper rendezvoused with local NSW Ambulance paramedics at the Bulahdelah Showground to airlift her to Newcastle for further assessment and treatment at the John Hunter Hospital.
An emergency call was also received from Monkerai, near Dungog, last night after a female in her 40s was seriously injured when her motor vehicle was impacted by a kangaroo.
The woman was treated on scene for multiple leg and facial injuries before being flown to the John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition.
Ironically, the WRHS only launched its annual End of Financial Year (EOFY) Appeal this week in the hopes of garnering a much-needed financial boost to its coffers.
For more news stories:
