IT WAS hailed as a historic day for the region.
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The Westpac Rescue Helicopter, which has serviced the Hunter for 41 years, wrote a new chapter on Friday with the launch of its Belmont base and new fleet of speedier aircraft.
In a ceremony attended by Health Minister Brad Hazzard, dignitaries were told to expect big things from the helicopter service, with an expanded network capable of servicing communities to the Queensland border, and new helicopters equipped with the latest technology in emergency aviation.
And the new fleet wasted no time getting down to business.
An Augusta 139 was whisked away on its first primary mission to a motorcycle crash at Abernathy just hours after the launch at Lake Macquarie Airport.
The call-out was symbolic of the kind emergencies Minister Hazzard was speaking of when he said the Westpac Rescue Helicopter had shown “exemplary service” to the Hunter, labelling its crewmen and women the “angels of the air”.
“This is a great day for the Hunter and it’s a great day for NSW,” he told reporters.
The launch of the Belmont base means day to day rescue helicopters will not take off from Broadmeadow.
Under a $151 million 10-year state government contract, NSW Ambulance and Westpac Rescue will jointly take charge of a newly formed Northern Region, which is promised to reach patients “no matter where they live”.
Broadmeadow will be retained as the Northern Region’s administrative headquarters and heavy maintenance facility.
Westpac Rescue chief executive Richard Jones said Friday’s launch was historic.
“It’s a real milestone,” Mr Jones said. “To think that our organisation could cope with something like this is a real tribute to the staff because it’s been a massive project, and there’s still a long way to go.”
Air crewman Glen Ramplin said the AW139 helicopters were state of the art – more spacious, practical and 80 km/h faster than the previous Bell 412 fleet.
“All in all it’s a beautiful aircraft,” he said. “Our capability has increased greatly, which helps because speed is of the essence in this job.”
NSW Ambulance Northern Region duty operations manager Adam Butt said Friday’s launch was a “long time coming”.
“What we’ve seen today is years in the making,” he said.
