The combined choppers in Tamworth, Newcastle and Lismore proved their worth as the aeromedical retrieval service of choice; however, the reforms to the rescue service do not include winching capabilities for the Tamworth chopper. 

As part of a reform to the service, for the first time in NSW, a team of either a doctor and paramedic or doctor and nurse will be on every patient retrieval flight across the helicopter retrieval network. 

Four new aircraft will be brought in from April 2017 – one at Newcastle, Lismore and Tamworth, with an additional helicopter hovering for maintenance and training purposes. 

It is hoped the helicopter’s dedicated crews and new aircraft will be able to retrieve patients more swiftly. 

Westpac Rescue Helicopter community liaison Barry Walton thanked the generous Tamworth community for its overwhelming support of the chopper, which ensured those in need did not have to pay for the life-saving airlift. 

Mr Walton said the chopper undertook 250 missions every year and had been serving the region for the past 14 years.

The winch was removed from Tamworth’s base in July last year and has been a major thorn in the side of the region, with deputy mayor Russell Webb and member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson lobbying for its return.

After a winching incident in the south of the state, the NSW government undertook a sweeping review of the service. 

The ability to winch people to safety was wrested from the Tamworth chopper by the government, citing safety reasons, while the helicopter based in Newcastle and Lismore maintained their winching capabilities. 

“The decision to take winching away was because the need was not there,” Mr Anderson said. 

He said there had been only three or four winching cases for the Tamworth chopper within 12 months, which the NSW government had deemed unnecessary. 

He said he would “continue to push” for the winch to be reinstated and request the minister to review the decision. 

Westpac Rescue Helicopter general manager Richard Jones said he had been “working tirelessly” alongside Mr Anderson to restore the winch and hoped the new training for staff would put Tamworth in a position to “respectfully” request the minister to reconsider. 

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the new helicopter retrieval network would get local paramedics and doctors to patients “faster than ever before”. 

“Our aeromedical helicopters are more than just transportation aircraft – they are mobile emergency departments in the sky, providing high-level, quality care to very sick patients,” Mrs Skinner said.