Taupo Mayor David Trewavas said the march attracted many people who owe their lives to the speed and efficient response of their local service.
“People are fired up and are pretty passionate just because of our geographic nature, being in the middle of the North Island.”
A Ministry of Health, ACC and National Ambulance Sector Office review says some air ambulance services should be cut.
Although no decisions have been made, communities in Taupo, Rotorua and Te Anau fear a 10-year modernisation programme for air ambulance services could see their services disbanded and handled from other centres.
“No decision has been made yet on where the air ambulance helicopter services will be based but coverage around the country, including the North Island’s central plateau, Coromandel and Te Anau will continue,” Ministry of Health community and ambulance spokesman Andrew Inder said.
“The locations will be determined through the current request for proposal process but it is important to note there will be an improved nationwide helicopter service that can provide better clinical support for patients.”
Inder said the service is responding to increased aviation and clinical compliance requirements and some variability in clinical outcomes between regions.
Trewavas said losing its local service would mean the Taupo area, including National Park, will be serviced from Hamilton, increasing the 20-minute flight time to the mountains to 43 minutes.
Being on State Highway 1 close to National Park and with 140,000 people a year walking the alpine Tongariro Crossing, medical events are regular and a speedy response is needed.
In the last year the Taupo and Rotorua helicopters flew 460 missions, 260 of them out of Taupo, of which half were to tourists.
It cost $1.3 million a year to run the Taupo service and, like other air ambulance services, a third was funded by the community and the balance from the Ministry of Health, ACC and district health boards.
Trewavas said he learnt of the threat to the service only two weeks ago when the review was already six months under way. The helicopter trust has since scrambled to prepare a tender.
Southland Mayor Gary Tong described the potential loss of the Te Anau service as a nonsense.
It services Fiordland, including the remote but heavily travelled Milford Road, western and northern Southland.
A former policeman, Tong spent 500 hours working on helicopter emergency operations and knows the challenges and importance of pilots having local knowledge.
“Of all the incidents we went to there was no loss of life because we got there in a hurry.”
Inder said demand for air ambulance helicopter services has grown rapidly from 7000 mission hours in 2007 to 11,000 hours in 2016.
“The challenge is how to keep those services fit for purpose in the future as service complexity grows.”
The helicopter fleet has an average age of 29 years and a third of the 20 air ambulance helicopters are single engined, which Inder said need replacing over time with double-engined machines that meet Civil Aviation Authority requirements for flying over populated areas.
“Many helicopters operate with higher than acceptable technical and safety risks and single engine helicopters do not allow full access to the patient for treatment.”
The new service proposal is designed to improve services and ensure there are two clinical crews for each air ambulance service callout, Inder said.
“The proposed service is simply looking at accidents and incidents that require an air ambulance because of the need for medical support.
“If someone needs to be rescued but doesn’t have any need for medical support, this service is still available through search and rescue and is not part of this request for proposal. However, any solution needs to consider the requirements of the wider emergency rescue service.
“The intention is to build a national, integrated network that covers all of New Zealand, is well linked with other emergency services, is available around the clock, is safer and is consistently clinically resourced.”
The time taken to reach an incident is one factor as good clinical outcomes require a high level of care at the scene, during transport and at hospital.
In small helicopters the stretcher extends beside the pilot with the patients abdomen and legs tucked under the dashboard.
Inder said that means any urgent work has to be done before the helicopter takes off.
A decision on new providers and services will be made in July or August.
