Sarah Courtney,Minister for Health
K-Block’s Helipad is a step closer to taking pressure off our road paramedics at a time when we need them most.
From tomorrow, two days of intensive familiarisation flights for aeromedical retrieval crew on the K-Block helipad will start.
This helipad will ensure critically ill or injured patients will be able to get to lifesaving treatment sooner.
Training will cover the flight paths, helipad and helipad lift lobby operations and patient pathways to clinical treatment areas.
To ensure all crew can familiarise themselves with the use of the new helipad there will be more than the anticipated amount of helicopter traffic in Hobart’s CBD during this time.
Crews consisting of an Ambulance Tasmania intensive care flight paramedic and a specialist retrieval doctor, Tasmania Police officer and pilot will all take part in flights to prepare for the operationalisation of the helipad.
Fast, dedicated lifts in K-Block will allow retrieval teams to get patients to their treatment areas within minutes.
This is significantly faster than landing at the Cenotaph which required transfer by road ambulance to the hospital.
The helipad is in its final stages of operational commissioning and will begin receiving patient retrievals shortly.
