Airedale Hospital submits plans for helipad
At the moment, air ambulances have to land on a "boggy" field, with patients transferred in a land ambulance
Plans to build a helipad at Airedale Hospital have been submitted to Bradford Council.
In June it was announced that work was underway to create a new helipad for air ambulances next to the Steeton hospital.
Currently air ambulances had to land on a “boggy” field near the hospital site, and then transfer patients to an ambulance that has driven out to meet the helicopter. They are then driven to the hospital’s emergency department.
Building a helipad next to the hospital would save vital minutes – the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust argued.
It could also provide an alternative to sending patients to Leeds General Infirmary – the destination for many patients who require an air ambulance.
Now a full planning application for the new structure has been submitted to Bradford Council.
The hospital had previously had a helipad in the north east corner of the site which was constructed in 2004.
However, that helipad was de-commissioned due to changes in the size of the air ambulance helicopters that landed at the hospital and the Major Trauma Network, and the neighbouring field has been used since then.
The new helipad will be built on a car park area at the North East of the hospital site – next to the A&E department.
The planning application says the hospital takes patients from a huge area of Yorkshire. It says: “The catchment stretches as far as the Yorkshire Dales and the National Park in North Yorkshire, reaching areas of North Bradford and Guiseley in West Yorkshire, and extends into Colne and Pendle in the East of Lancashire.
“Helicopter Emergency Medical Services attend a significant number of accidents and medical emergencies in the Airedale geographical catchment each year.
“Whilst many are suitable for both medical and surgical treatment in our Emergency Department, we do not have a safe, accessible facility to receive Helicopters.
“The current grassfield landing site has no dedicated landing markers, nor lighting, and can often get very boggy when wet making flight safety during landing/take off more challenging.
“There is also the requirement of an ambulance for a secondary transfer to the Emergency Department which delays and complicates the patient transfer.
“Patients therefore bypass their nearest point of care and are flown elsewhere often to Leeds, or are subject to prolonged and potentially avoidable road transfer.
“The proposal will provide a much-needed facility in the area, generating significant medical benefits for the local community. Ultimately, it will help save lives and provide essential acute care for vulnerable patients.”
Currently 64 per cent of all patients attended to by Yorkshire Air Ambulance within the area covered by Airedale Hospital are either conveyed to the LGI or were “subject to a lengthy secondary road transfer to receive their emergency care at Airedale.”
There are plans to rebuild much of Airedale Hospital in the future, and the applications says the helipad is “integral for the vision of the future” for the hospital.
A decision on the application is expected in October.