Mackay Base Hospital helipad moved to Mackay Airport during expansion works

Aviation and clinical care experts independently agreed an interim helipad at a nearby airport was the best option, but the mayor said he was “totally opposed” to anything not on or near the hospital.

Aviation and clinical care experts independently agreed an interim helipad at a nearby aiport was the best option, but the mayor said he was “totally opposed” to anything not on or near the hospital.

A final report has concluded the Mackay Base Hospital helipad will remain at Mackay Airport until a long-term location is decided upon.

Mackay Health and Hospital Service chief medical officer Charles Pain said the airport was the “safest option, taking into account all of the various factors that we’ve had to weigh”.

Yet the mayor said earlier in the day he would not accept any option that was not on or near hospital grounds.

Despite saying the interim helipad would be based at the airport in November, Dr Pain said the formal decision was informed by the critical care and aviation experts who had come to the same conclusion independently.

“In the end, those options (near the hospital) were not safe from a patient point of view (and) put staff potentially at risk,” Dr Pain said.

Mackay Health and Hospital Service Chief Medical Officer Dr Charles Pain said the decision for the interim helipad to remain at the hospital was informed by independent experts. Photo: Zoe Devenport

Dr Pain said a dedicated ambulance would now be stationed at the airport for patients who, once inside, would then be considered as under intensive care.

Mackay mayor Greg Williamson said earlier in the day that he was “totally opposed” to anything “not on adjacent grounds to the hospital”.

“Because it’s the fastest path into the emergency department,” he said.

“The community deserves the quickest path for an injured person to hospital.

Mayor Greg Williamson has reiterated his focus on community and growth ahead of the March 2024 elections.

“We’ve been promoting for a very long time putting the helipad on federal or state ground next door and building a pathway into the back of ED, it’s 180 metres.”

Mr Williamson said the decision came at the eleventh hour, as MHHS had known about the upcoming expansion for likely years.

He said for several patients “who were within a minute of their life expiring” could not have survived given the 10-15 minute ambulance transfer from airport to hospital.

The report refers to Google Maps for a travel time of between 10 to 16 minutes between the interim helipad and the emergency department.

MHHS CEO Susan Gannon said she wanted to reassure the community “they are in safe hands” and do not to be “concerned they’re not being cared for appropriately”.

Mackay Health and Hospital Service CEO Susan Gannon said the interim helipad at Mackay Airport was "much safer" for patients and staff. Photo: Zoe Devenport

“It is much safer for patients and staff to be looked after at the airport undercover in an ambulance providing treatment than landing further away (and) having to go on a buggy ... in rain, storms, heat, etcetera,” Ms Gannon said.

Nineteen potential landing sites across Mackay were considered by aviation and critical care experts, who concluded the airport would provide “safety, security, and privacy” for patients.

“One key advantage of the on-airport options is that they currently exist and the identified enhancements can be implemented with minimum delay and at a nominal costs,” their report concluded.

Mackay Base Hospital’s interim helipad is located next to the headquarters for RACQ CQ Rescue. Picture: RACQ CQ Rescue

“Significantly less than would be involved in any alternate development requiring capital expenditure.”

The report detailed how many of the options surrounding MBH would require costly development to ward against potential flooding from the Pioneer River or require transport of patients on buggys.

Mackay Base Hospital’s $250m expansion will begin construction on February 1 and will deliver an additional 128 beds, a new children’s ward with Ronald McDonald Family Rooms, with new birthing suites and a Women’s Health Unit.

Originally published as Mackay Base Hospital helipad moved to Mackay Airport during expansion works