merrion street

Two missions carried out last night by the Coast Guard have brought the number of helicopter missions this year to 1,000. 

This is a record number of helicopter for the Coast Guard since the beginning of their helicopter service in 1991. Last year saw the Coast Guard completed a total of 914 helicopter missions. 

As of this morning the Shannon helicopter Rescue 115 has completed 330 missions, Dublin Rescue 116 completed 148 missions, Waterford Rescue 117 179 missions and Sligo Rescue 118 343 missions. The west coast helicopters in particular have been busy this year in assisting the National Ambulance Service in transporting critically ill or injured patients from rural areas to the major trauma centres at Cork and Galway University Hospitals. 

The Coast Guard expect this HEMS (Helicopter emergency Medical Service) level to be maintained at between 10 and 15% of all missions in 2016.

The two latest missions saw Shannon CG helicopter Rescue 115 assist a young pregnant female from Inish Mór in getting to Galway University Hospital and then remain at the hospital overnight due to fog. On the second mission Sligo CG Helicopter was tasked to assist a young boy with leg injuries who was inaccessible to the ambulance service due to flooding. Despite multiple attempts to land, extraction by air was not possible in the foggy conditions and the boy was eventually transported by road. 

For more information read the press release here.