Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service


The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service is a helicopter surf lifesaving service that operates in Australia.
Founded in 1973 by Surf Life Saving Australia, a not-for-profit organisation, the service has carried out more than 50,000 flights ranging from patient transfers to search and rescue missions. The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service is the largest non-profit search and rescue and aeromedical retrieval service in Australia. Its aircraft and trained medical and operational crews respond quickly and effectively to emergencies threatening the life, health and safety of people caused through medical emergency, illness, natural disaster, accidents or mishap.
The major sponsor of the helicopter services is Westpac, an Australian-based financial institution that also has operations in New Zealand.

Role

When contracted, the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopters respond to medical emergencies throughout the most populous regions of Australia, covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of bushland, mountain ranges, Australia's busiest highways as well as the coastlines of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.
The helicopters are tasked to undertake a number of different missions:
While the service operates under the umbrella name of Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service, autonomous, yet affiliated, non-profit organisations deliver the service to meet the specific needs of local communities. Each organisation is governed by a Board with local management and an advisory committee. The relevant organisations are:
The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service operates in six states in Australia. In most states, the Service is contracted to fly helicopters with on-board specialist doctors and paramedics.
In New South Wales, there are four operation bases and a total of eight rescue aircraft. Westpac 1 and Westpac 2 are located at the base in. This base also serves as the head of operations for the services, where Westpac 3 and Westpac 4 are located. In Sydney, Lifesaver 21 is based; Lifesaver 23 is based in ; and in both Life Saver 2 and Life Saver 4 are located. The Lismore base also houses a third Life Saver helicopter, purchased for a possible base. With support of major sponsor, Westpac, Southern Region opened a summer time base at Moruya Airport in December 2010 for three months. A total of 67 missions were achieved in the first season. The previous Labor Government
provided funding for Sydney to return to 24/7 operations and the south coast service would become a year-round, day-time operation. Southern now operates two bases covering from the Central Coast to the Victorian border.
In Queensland, the Service patrols the southeast coast, performing beach patrols, shark sightings and warnings and provides assistance to Surf Lifesavers in the water and on the beach. Westpac also sponsors three Jet Rescue Boats in Queensland.
In Victoria, the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter is being re-introduced in the upcoming season. The Westpac Aerial Service, which currently consists of Lifesaver 7, a fixed wing Cessna 337 and Lifesaver 8, also a fixed wing, Partenavia P68-B, will have the increased capability of a rescue helicopter. The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter will conduct regular patrols and undertake rescue missions across Victoria. The service will work closely with the volunteer beach patrols, paid lifeguards, and offshore services, and is readily available to assist other emergency services and government agencies. The service will also undertake community education and promotional activities throughout the year and will be available 24/7 for call-outs. Life Saving Victoria also works closely with the police air-wing and the Southern Peninsula Rescue Squad which enables the fastest response to emergency calls.
In Tasmania, the Service provides emergency services and has a contract with Ambulance Tasmania as well as the Tasmanian Police.
In South Australia, Service helicopters patrol beaches on weekends, public holidays and busy weekdays over summer from November through to March each year. Its patrolling region is the Adelaide mid-south coastline from to, and the South Coast from Parsons Beach to the Murray Mouth, including,, and. It works together with other Surf Lifesaving support services, including Lifesaver 2 and Lifesaver 3, the state Jet Rescue Boats.
The Service launched operations in Western Australia in December 2008 with patrols beaches on weekends, public holidays and busy weekdays over the summer months.

Flight crew

As well as pilots there are several specialist crewmembers. The air crewman assists the pilot with communication; navigation; and landing by providing the pilot with accurate clearance; helicopter safety; and operating the rescue winch. A rescue crewman's duties include going down the winch, scaling cliff faces and swimming. Rescue crew are also responsible for passenger safety during Passenger Transport Operations. Special Casualty Access Team paramedics possess skills in intensive care / Advance Life Support and trauma management; and have skills in accessing and treating patients in difficult or remote locations. SCATs work closely with the local accredited rescue units to access, assess, triage and treat patients. When required, SCATs may also provide assistance with the extrication of the patient. They provide patient care and are responsible for preparing the aeromedical evacuation missions, coordinating with the flight crew and other medical personnel, as well as liaising with retrieval services. Doctors specially qualified in Emergency Care and retrieval medicine are also part of the team. This enables the crew to provide critical care to a patients anywhere it is needed.

Aircraft

The following aircraft, bases and coverage summarise the activities of the Service:
All aircraft flown out of the Newcastle/Hunter, New England/North West and Lismore/Northern Rivers will be replaced AgustaWestland AW139 starting with the Newcastle base on 1 March 2017. The Newcastle-based operations relocated from Broadmeadow to Lake Macquarie Airport, with maintenance and office space remaining on the Broadmeadow base.

Currently in use

Formerly operated

Since the 1970s helicopters have been part of the fleet of NSW Ambulance. The SLSA-owned Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service started receiving NSW Government funding for its service in 1978; with funding and tasking arrangements put in place in 1989. By 2006 there were nine helicopters operating across the state. Reviews commissioned by NSW Ambulance during 2004 and 2005 identified a number of systemic weaknesses with the services provided by both the WLSHRS and by CareFlight, delivered under a mix of government funding, corporate sponsorship and fundraising. During 2006, a competitive tenders process commenced to provide helicopters in Greater Sydney, which covers the Sydney, and areas, as well as other locations across NSW. In December 2006, John Hatzistergos, the NSW Minister for Health, announced the government's decision to award a contract for the Greater Sydney area to Canadian Helicopter Corporation, which was already providing a service in Wollongong and Canberra, for commencement from May 2007; effectively terminating the contracts for the Greater Sydney area held by WLSHRS and CareFlight. No interstate operations were affected by the change in contract. A summary of the outcome of the competitive tendering process is set out below:
The decision to appoint a for profit corporation to deliver the service, in lieu of not-profit entities, drew considerable media, community, and political attention. As a result, the NSW Auditor-General was instructed to delivere a performance audit of the helicopter emergency medical services contract process and whether satisfactory outcomes for Greater Sydney were delivered under awarding the contract to CHC. Reporting in 2010, he found that:
Ahead of the publication of the Auditor-General's report, it was reported in December 2009 that CHC were seeking to sell its Australian air services arm, following a series of mishaps including engine failures, windows falling out of the aircraft, no installed air conditioning system inside the cabin as well as response delays to accident sites.
In 2011, Jillian Skinner, the NSW Minister for Health, commissioned a strategic review of the NSW Ambulance Service, including its aeromedical operations. Ernst & Young were engaged to assist with the review; and delivered a final report with 56 recommendations that were released for public comment from December 2012 to mid March 2013. Following consideration of the 73 submissions received, and further consultation with clinical and aviation experts, in 2013 the NSW Government released the Reform Plan for Aeromedical Retrieval Services in NSW. Along with other reforms, two key issues impact the ongoing operations of the WLSHRS:
  1. The helicopter retrieval fleet will be standardised to two types of helicopters for the State, and new helicopters will be phased in as part of the procurement and implementation process for longer contract terms of between 7 – 10 years;
  2. NSW Health will structure helicopter contracts around two regions within NSW so that each region has one operator, including options for consortia arrangements.
In December 2014, it was announced that the partnership of the Northern Region SLSA and the Hunter Region SLSA had been successful in the NSW Aeromedical Retrieval Network tender. As a result, the service will re-equip with AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters from early 2017 to be operated from bases the existing base in Tamworth as well as upgraded bases in Lismore and Newcastle
The first of 4 AgustaWestland AW139 arrived at the Newcastle Westpac Rescue base on 10 June 2016.