New helipad for Derriford Hospital
Derriford Hospital will have a new helipad in operation by next summer. Funding of just under £2m has been agreed to build the new helipad close to the Emergency Department entrance.
The helipad will be able to receive Search and Rescue helicopters as well as the night flights which Devon and Cornwall Air Ambulances will soon be running.
Derriford Hospital does not have a recognised helipad. The hospital has a small grassed-over area adjacent to the Emergency Department which has been used for some years as a set-down area for air ambulances. This area is recognised under ‘grandfather rights’, it is not a helipad, it is unsuitable for larger helicopters and has no lighting. Larger helicopters such as those from the Military and Search and
Rescue have had to land at nearby Marjons, with patients then being transferred to hospital by land ambulance. No flights, even from smaller helicopters, have been able to land at Derriford at night.
But thanks to the HELP Appeal (Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads), which is contributing £850,000 alongside £900,000 capital funding from the hospital Trust, work on the new £1.7m helipad will start within weeks.
Chief Executive Ann James said: “Our patients need a proper, approved helipad and we’re really delighted that with the support of the HELP Appeal, we have been able to make this happen.
“We are the designated Major Trauma Centre for the peninsula and we receive around 400 patients per year as emergencies needing transfer by air.
“It’s absolutely right that these patients can land as close as possible to our Emergency Department at all times of day and night. Being able to receive patients 24 hours a day will allow patients to be transferred for specialist care quickly, negating the need for lengthy ambulance transfers and potentially improving outcomes for them. A very quick transfer can be vital in major trauma cases.”
Robert Bertram, Chief Executive of the HELP Appeal said: “We support the funding of helipads nationally because every second of every minute counts for serious accidents or medical emergencies and the first hour after any incident is critical. Derriford is the designated Major Trauma Centre for the whole of Devon and Cornwall and needs this helipad for its patients.
“We are proud and delighted to be able to make it happen and I would like to thank all our supporters, without whom we could not support hospitals in this way.”
More information on HELP Appeal can be found at http://www.helpappeal.com/
The Trust has been supported by Marjons in recent years and would like to acknowledge and thank them, on behalf of patients, for the generous use of their site.
Julie Richards, Associate Director of Estates said: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved to date for their commitment and support, particularly Marjons and the HELP Appeal.
“We are now looking look forward to working with our partners from the HELP Appeal and the Cornwall and Devon Air Ambulance Trusts and the Search and Rescue teams on the mobilisation and implementation plans. We aim to have the new helipad operational by early next summer.”
The helipad will be built at the top end of Car Park B in Derriford Hospital and it is expected to take around eight months to build.
