'Having this second helicopter will save lives' says CareFlight

CAREFLIGHT is this coming week taking its appeal for a second helicopter to Canberra, calling on federal politicians to provide $10 million to help save the lives of vulnerable Territorians

CareFlight NT rescue helicopter.

CAREFLIGHT is this coming week taking its appeal for a second helicopter to Canberra, calling on federal politicians to provide $10 million to help save the lives of vulnerable Territorians.

CareFlight chief executive Mick Frewen said getting a second emergency retrieval helicopter for the Top End of the NT was a matter of utmost importance.

“It’s absolutely my number one priority to get this second helicopter,” he said.

“Having this second helicopter will save lives.

“The whole focus of going down is to seek support for the funding to purchase a second helicopter.”

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Mr Frewen said the second chopper would mean it could reach an extra 60 patients a year — and increase the time the helicopter could be used from 70 per cent to 95 per cent.

“The capital cost is the big challenge,” he said.

Chief Executive Officer Mick Frewen gives the CareFlight chopper a polish before the ball Pic Katrina Bridgeford.

“The Territory Government has been great supporters of the CareFlight in the Top End and the operational costs are manageable. It really is about trying to move this need for the helicopter forward in the minds of the Federal Government.”

NT Senator Sam McMahon said the proposal had her full support. “I think it’s a really good idea,” she said.

“My only concern is their capacity to meet running costs of a second helicopter — but they assure me that they can handle that.”

Ms McMahon said CareFlight provided a vital service in the NT, and it needed the chopper to reach rough terrain. “One of the issues is that — particularly at night — fixed- wing aircraft can’t land in the vast majority of places in the rural and remote NT,” she said.

Ms McMahon said while she hadn’t discussed the chopper directly with the Prime Minister or Federal health Minister Greg Hunt, she’d voice her support when she did. A spokesman for Mr Hunt said it was already funding the NT’s Royal Flying Doctor Service, which delivered health services from the NT/South Australia border up to Tennant Creek.