Hospital gets funds for new helipad lights

The new lights aim to make it easier for air ambulances to land at night in Dorchester

A hospital has received money to improve the lighting on its temporary helipad.

Dorset County Hospital (DCH) and Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) were given £13,500 from the Help Appeal - a charity dedicated to funding hospital helipads.

DCH is currently landing helicopters at the Army Reserve Centre in Dorchester, while construction work takes place at the hospital.

The funding has been used to improve the visibility at the site, making it safer for air ambulances flying at night.

'Solar-powered lights'

Mario Carretta, unit chief pilot at DSAA, said: “Although we use night vision goggles as an aid to flying at night, there is a regulatory requirement for hospital landing sites to be lit during the hours of darkness.

“These solar-powered lights operate automatically between dusk and dawn, and as well as meeting the regulatory requirements, they will improve our situational awareness by making the landing site stand out from amongst the lights of the surrounding streets and buildings.”

Tristan Chapman, programme director at DCH, said he was grateful to Help Appeal for the donation and to the Army Reserve Centre for allowing the hospital to use its helipad.

He added: "Their ongoing support means that patients arriving by air ambulance continue to be transferred to our hospital quickly for ongoing care.”

The Army Reserve Centre will continue to be used as a helicopter landing site until construction of a new emergency department and critical care unit are completed in 2027.

The building work includes a new rooftop helipad, which is being funded by a £2m grant from the Help Appeal and will allow patients to be transferred via a lift directly into the hospital.