SOH800271-0001 Portsmouth aud South East Hampshire Health Authority HELICOPTER LANDING SITES Notes ofa meetiug held on 23 August 1999 Present " Peter Baker Deputy District Controller, H M Coastguard Peter Thomson Chief Pilot, Bristows, Search and Rescue Service John Henly Director of Policy & Performance, Portsmouth & S E Hampshire Health Authority Phil Hawkins Risk and Emergency Planning Manager, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Peter Howlett Director of Developmen{, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Apologies : Gary Smith Director of Intensive Care, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Purpose of n" The meetin,~ ~,her of aspects relating to the helicopter t ~nd the Isle of Wight to Queen Ale tr. In particular, an alternativ, :rs to Queen Alexandra Hospital ’ing the closure of Haslar. Diffio Peter,, ,h and rescue helicopters werl,,/ andra site. Three specific risk the 111.~ and other spectators the congested the lack of an alternative "~,,,, the event of an aborted/emergency landing 3 Types/Numbers of transfers Three types of transfers were identified ¯ "medivac" transfers f’rom the Isle of Wight - usually intensive care patients being transferred to Queen Alexandra Hospital (about 10-12 per year?) ¯ divers requMng emergency decompression at Haslar (9 so far this year) ¯ other inarine casualties requiring emergency care at Haslar (19 so far this year) SOH800271-0002 Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Health Authority HELICOPTER LANDING SITES Notes of a meeting held on 23 August 1999 Present ¯ Peter Baker Deputy District Controller, H M Coastguard Peter Thomson Chief Pilot, Bristows, Search and Rescue Service John Henly Director of Policy & Performance, Portsmouth & S E Hampshire Health Authority Phil Hawkins Risk and Emergency Planning Manager, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Peter Howlett Director of Developme~! Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Apologies : Gary Smith Director of Intensive Care, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Purpose of meeting The meeting had been called to discuss a number of aspects relating to the helicopter transfer of patients from maritime incidents and the Isle of Wight to Queen Alexandra Hospital and the Royal Hospital Haslar. In particular, an alternative landing sites was required to support transfers to Queen Alexandra Hospital which would be dealing with all cases followi~ng the closure of Haslar. Difficulties in landing on Queen Alexandra site Peter Thomson confirmed that pilots of large search and rescue helicopters were no longer willing to land on the Queen Alexandra Site. Three specific risks had been identified ¯ "~.~ the inability to keep the area clear of children and oiher spectators the congested site and number of buildings the lack of an alternative "escape" route in the event of an aborted/emergency landing 3 Types/Numbers of transfers Three types of transfers were identified ¯ "medivac" transfers from the Isle of Wight -usually) intensive care patients being transferred to Queen Alexandra Hos~oital (about 10-12 per year?) divers requiring emergency decompression at Haslar (9 so far this year) other marine casualties requiring emergency care at Haslar (19 so far this year) SOH800271-0003 Alternative landing sites A number of alternative landing sites had been considered ¯ ¯ Horsea Island (adjacent to Port Solent) - this was the most favoured site, as it was secure from public access, provided adequate landing facilities and reasonable road access to Queen Alexandra Hospital. However, it may be necessary to seek removal of the speedhumps. Currently, the use of the site had been approved by the MoD on the basis of about 5 inter-hospital transfers per year. ¯ One of the torts on Portsdown Hill - could sometimes be in cloud layer, and also potential problems of security/access ¯ King George V playing field - used by large numbers of public for sports matches, and therefore difficult to clear ~! ¯ Sevenoaks Road playing field - also likely to be difficult to clear users from area. ¯ Field adjacent to IBM - adjacent new buildings, wildlife site and potential boggy area After viewing the sites, it was agreed that extending the’use of Horsea Island for all emergency transfers should be pursued. Discussions would need to be held with the Hampshire Ambulance Service to ensure their support for this solution and also to review the availability of resuscitation skills/equipment for incoming casualties.,. Although Haslar currently provided a resuscitation team to meet the he!icopter, this is an arrangement not normally available in other districts and probably not essential to reprovide. 5 Possible landing facilities on the Queen Aiexandra Hospital site in the long term The availability in the long term of a landing facility ~Aithe Queen Alexandra Hospital site was agreed as an ideal aim. However, this would need to be an elevated site such as the rooftop of the proposed new tower block in order to overcome the current risks. However, the loading requirements required to accommodate the weight of a large search and rescue helicopter (and to bear thd potential additional impact of a crash or an emergency landing) could make this solution impractical. Peter Howlett undertook to seek advice on the issue. He pointed out that the new block was unlikely to be built until about 2005. Future of Decompression Chamber It was noted that no decision had yet been taken abou$ the future of the decompression facility following the closure of Haslai’.’ ’There was agreement on the need for such a facility to remain available witliifl the Solent area and Peter Howlett stated that there were likely to be discu~gions about whether a SOH800271-0004 chamber should be incorporated as part of the new Military Defence Hospital Unit to be provided on the Queen Alexandra Hospital site in the long term. 7 Difficulties wilh loading/unloading of intensive car~ trolley Both the Hampshire and Isle of Wight ambulance services had expressed concern about the weight of the intensive care trolley and the difficulty in loading and unloading this, even with the assistance of fire service personnel. It was agreed that further discussions between Portsmouth Hospital, the ambulance services and HM Coastguard/Bristows should take place to identify opportunities to lighten the load, possibly by separating the patient from some of the equipment during transfer. jrl~helicopter landing sites 25 August 1999 SOH800271-0005 Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Health Authority HELICOPTER LANDING SITES Notes of a meeting held on 23 August 1999 Present Peter Baker Deputy District Controller, H M Coastguard Peter Thomson Chief Pilot, Bristows, Search and Rescue Service John Henly Director of Policy & Performance, Portsmouth & S E Hampshire Health Authority Phil Hawkins Risk and Emergency Planning Manager, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Peter Howlett Director of Developmefil~, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Apologies : Gary Smith Director of Intensive Care, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Purpose of meeting The meeting had been called to discuss a number of aspects relating to the helicopter transfer of patients from maritime incidents and the Isle of Wight to Queen Alexandra Hospital and the Royal Hospital Haslar. In particular, an alternative landing sites was required to support transfers to Queen Alexandra Hospital which would be dealing with all cases following the closure of Haslar. Difficulties in landing on Queen Alexandra site Peter Thomson confirmed that pilots of large search and rescue helicopters were no longer willing to land on the Queen Alexandra site. Three specific risks had been identified : ¯ the inability to keep the area clear of children and other spectators ¯ the congested site and number of buildings ¯ the lack of an alternative "escape" route in the event of an aborted/emergency landing Types/Numbers of transfers Three types of transfers were identified : ¯ "rnedivac" transfers from the Isle of Wight - usually intensive care patients being transferred to Queen Alexandra Hospital (about 10-12 per year?) ¯ divers requiring emergency decompression at Haslar (9 so far this year) ¯ other marine casualties requiring emergency care at Haslar (19 so far this year) SOH800271-0006 4 Alternative landing sites A number of alternative landing sites had been considered ¯ ¯ Horsea Island (adjacent to Port Solent) - this was the most favoured site, as it was secure from public access, provided adequate landing facilities and reasonable road access to Queen Alexandra Hospital. However, it may be necessary to seek removal of the speedhumps. Currently, the use of the site had been approved by the MoD on the basis of about 5 inter-hospital transfers per year. ¯ One of the forts on Portsdown Hill - could sometimes be in cloud layer, and also potential problems of security/access ¯ King George V playing field - used by large numbers of public for sports matches, and therefore difficult to clear ¯ Sevenoaks Road playing field - also likely to be difficult to clear users from area. ¯ Field adjacent to IBM - adjacent new buildings, wildlife site and potential boggy area After viewing the sites, it was agreed that extending the use of Horsea Island for all emergency transfers should be pursued. Discussions would need to be held with the Hampshire )kmbulance Service to ensure their support for this solution and also to review the availability of resuscitation skills/equipment for incoming casualties... Although Haslar currently provided a resuscitation team to meet the helicopter, this is an arrangement not normally available in other districts and probably not essential to reprovide. ~ : 5 Possible landing facilities on the Queen Alexandra Hospital site in the long term The availability in the long term of a landing facility ~hthe Queen Alexandra Hospital site was agreed as an ideal aim. However, this would need to be an elevated site such as the rooftop of the proposed new tower block in order to overcome the current risks. However, the loading requirements required to accommodate the weight of a large search and rescue helicopter (and to bear th~ potential additional impact of a crash or an emergency landing) could make this solution impractical. Peter Howlett undertook to seek advice on the issue.