Gunnedah helipad should have been closed eight years ago

The Gunnedah Hospital helipad should have been closed eight years ago, according to new information obtained by local council.

The fresh details come as Gunnedah Shire Council prepares to write to NSW Health and state MP Kevin Anderson requesting the “urgent reinstatement” of the hospital helipad.

As first revealed by the Gunnedah Times in March, all helicopter landings at the Gunnedah Hospital helipad have been transferred to the airport, pending a review of the helipad’s viability.

At the time, a Hunter New England Health spokesperson said the closure was not related to the hospital redevelopment.

At the June meeting of council, general manager Eric Groth told councillors that the service has been shutdown since February.

But a 2017 report to NSW Health which “did not see the light of day” showed the helipad closure should have occurred much earlier.

“The report indicated helicopters should not operate without further changes to the infrastructure,” Mr Groth said.

“That report did not come to the table, and those helicopters have been operating for the last eight years despite that.”

Council said a subsequent report in 2020, which coincided with regulation changes to the helicopter operations and hospital redevelopment, identified 19 recommendations to infrastructure, including the helipad.

Mr Groth was told the infrastructure changes required were “not within the budget” available.

The helipad’s transfer to the airport became particularly problematic for the Gunnedah community as the move coincided with the temporary closure of Cohen’s Bridge early this year due to maintenance.

The subsequent detour from Gunnedah to the airport added critical time to the journeys as noted by councillor Juliana McArthur.

“On two occasions I’ve had to make use of air ambulance services,” she said.

“Each occasion took between 15-20 minutes to get from the hospital to the airport.

“That is a very long time in an emergency.”

Councillor Robert Hoddle suggested council write to the authorities to express their collective concern about the helipad situation.

It was agreed that wording of the letter would also address the installation of any infrastructure required to ensure compliance with

regulations to enable NSW Ambulance to continue air ambulance operations from the landing pad.

Cr Hoddle also noted the cost in health staff and paramedics transferring patients to the airport would be considerably more than utilising the hospital helipad.