Helipad plan for Frimley Park

Building work is underway to create a helicopter landing pad at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey. Commenting on the need for the facility, Kelvin Wright, a consultant in emergency medicine and intensive care and clinical director to the South West London and Surrey Trauma Network, said: "The emergence of air ambulances has made a huge difference to patients in rural areas and those with time-critical injuries who need rapid transport to the most-appropriate centres. Currently a patient arriving by air at Frimley Park has to land in a field on the other side of the M3 motorway and then be taken by road ambulance to the hospital, adding an extra 20 minutes to the journey. This means all the advantages of air transport are lost and the 'golden hour' ticks by rapidly. A helipad with direct access to the resuscitation room, such as we are planning, is the universal gold standard and signifies a hospital that is committed to the care of the acutely ill and injured. It would also allow us to transfer the most sick and injured patients to more specialist centres when necessary in the safest possible way." The work is being carried out as part of the redevelopment of the emergency department and day surgery ward.