FLIGHT paths around 19 Victorian hospitals will be protected after an air ambulance helipad was shut down due to nearby construction work.
HELICOPTERS have been unable to land at the Royal Melbourne Hospital since mid-February due to a crane on a nearby private development.
There are 19 helipads at Victorian hospitals without local council Design Development Overlays (DDO), making them vulnerable to shut downs due to construction work. Premier Daniel Andrews says Health Minister Jill Hennessy and the Department of Health and Human Services are working on a solution. “They are very concerned about this and they’re doing, it’s fair to say, some urgent work,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “Whether it’s stroke or trauma, those who really can’t wait, I don’t want even a moment lost in getting them to the specialist care they need.” A spokeswoman for Ms Hennessy said the department has issued a tender for experts to establish flight paths for the 19 helipads on hospital grounds that don’t have DDO. “Royal Melbourne Hospital does not have a DDO in place and in mid-February, a crane on a private development was erected which may infringe on the flight path to the RMH helipad, making it potentially unsafe to land,” the spokeswoman said. Melbourne Health has a flight consultant determining an alternative flight path. “We are advised that the flight consultant has identified an alternative path that meets the guidelines and Melbourne Health is meeting with them today to confirm this,” the spokeswoman said. In the meantime, air ambulances have been diverted to the Royal Children’s Hospital and The Alfred. “We have been advised by The Alfred’s chief operating officer that there have been no negative patient outcomes or performance issues as a result of this,” the spokeswoman said.