Coastguard helicopter landings have been suspended at most of Scotland’s hospitals over safety fears. The action has been taken in the wake of a safety review ordered after the death of a woman in an accident at a hospital in England two years ago.
The 87-year old was walking in a car park at Derriford Hospital in Devon in March 2022, close to the hospital’s helipad, when she was blown over and fatally injured while a helicopter was landing.
Bristow, which operates the HM Coastguard helicopter search and rescue service, said its UK-wide move will hit 23 Scottish sites, including helipads for hospitals in Aberdeen, Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Hospitals in the north of Scotland will be impacted most acutely, with Aberdeen Royal Infirmary seeing 58 coastguard landings between May 2022 and May 2024. Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway is the second most affected, with 52 landings over the same period, while Edinburgh Royal Infirmary had 21 landings and Glasgow’s Golden Jubilee 20.
Other sites with landings suspended include NHS Highland’s Campbeltown Hospital, which had 13 coastguard landings in the last two years, Ayr Hospital with nine, Ninewells Hospital in Dundee with six, and Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary with five.
Further locations facing the action but which have seen no coastguard landings since May 2022 are in Arran, Barra, Skye, Fort William, Kilmarnock, Melrose, Millport, Moffat, Mull, Oban, Rothesay and Stranraer.
However, ten hospital landing sites in Scotland meet recommendations made by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) probe. They also adhered to recently issued regulations from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) following the 2022 accident.
But the new rules also state “safe zones” for large helicopters need to be extended to protect bystanders from “downwash” – when rotors produce a rapid change in air direction. NHS National Services Scotland has distributed a safety notice on the changes.
Hospital helipads cleared for continued use include Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, and Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick, Shetland. And the Scottish Government said Scottish Air Ambulance and charity air ambulances could still land at all of Scotland’s hospitals
In a statement, a spokesperson said: “The limited recommendations applicable to Scottish sites are being acted on by NHS Scotland, and we expect wider recommendations are being acted on across the rest of the UK. Health boards in Scotland have reported no issues with the transport or care of patients while this action takes place.”
NHS Grampian said it was working to make improvements at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, which is part of the Foresterhill Health Campus, adding: “On average more than 260 helicopters land safely at our Foresterhill site each year and we are committed to ensuring our facilities remain safe for patients, the public and our staff.”
NHS Western Isles has put alternative arrangements in place at nearby Stornoway Airport until further notice following the move. A spokeswoman said: “NHS Western Isles would wish point out that, in over 30 years of operation, there have been no incidents relating to physical injury as a result of the location of the helipad at Western Isles Hospital. However, we acknowledge and accept the recommendations of the AAIB.”
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