NGH helipad scheme now gaining support
An emergency doctor and a senior air ambulance pilot have given their backing to the idea of establishing a helipad at Northampton General Hospital.
Dr John Trenfield, a consultant in emergency medicine at NGH, and Richard Craske, the chief pilot at Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, said land they had identified near the entrance to the A&E department, would be ideal for a landng site and would be a major boost to the hospital.
Currently, patients flown to NGH by helicopter are dropped off at a 'secondary' landing site that used to be the playing fields of the former Cliftonville Middle School. However, the delicate transfer by land ambulance can take 20 minutes.
And with only a 'trolley dash' from a helicopter to waiting doctors, it is estimated that up to 30 patients a year could benefit from having a helipad on the NGH site.
Mr Craske said: "Having a helipad so near to A&E would make a huge difference in terms of time.
"A purpose-built landing site would be more efficient and certainly a good development from my point of view."
Dr Trenfield said: "In trauma cases every minute counts and this could certainly save lives in terms of getting patients to A&E as well as save time transferring others from Northampton to specialist hospitals"
Dr Trenfield said the original idea was for a helipad on top of the A&E department, but that was deemed too costly as the building would have to be reinforced.
The issue resurfaced about a year ago and, helped by Michael Ellis, the Conservatives' prospective Parliamentary candidate for Northampton North, the scheme has gradually gained support.
Similar ground-level helipads have cost about 250,000 and, with forecast NHS cutbacks, it is unlikely NGH could fund it.
Mr Ellis said he hoped to persuade the business community to help out.
He said: "My cousin works for an air ambulance service and other family members work at NGH so I realise what an advantage a helipad could be for the town."
Email to a friend
Print this page- BREAKING NEWS: Man dies following motorway smash on Northamptonshire border
- BREAKING NEWS: Police inundated with hundreds of complaints over snowball fights
- Huge cigarette haul by masked burglars in armed raids at Northampton stores
- BREAKING NEWS: Police name man killed in crash on motorway in Northamptonshire
- Student flats planned for Northampton town centre revealed
- BREAKING NEWS: Fishmarket art gallery offered new home
- Student flats planned for Northampton town centre revealed
- New manager of Northampton’s Grosvenor Centre says ‘This is the beginning of a new era’
- BREAKING NEWS: Police inundated with hundreds of complaints over snowball fights
- Neighbours raise concern about bid to build new house three inches from their home
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Northampton
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 5 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South east
