Vital steps to upgrade the helipad at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary so search and rescue helicopters can resume landing there are moving forward.
NHS Grampian has confirmed it will cover the costs, with the health board responsible for its “safe and effective operation”.
The news has been welcomed by North East MP Andrew Bowie, who said: “ARI is a vital landing location for search and rescue services.
“When a casualty comes into a hospital from the North Sea or the side of a mountain, mere minutes if not seconds can make all the difference to recovery.”
The Scottish Ambulance Service and Scottish Charity Air Ambulance have been using the ARI helipad as normal in recent months.
Search and rescue and other operators are, however, currently landing at Aberdeen Airport and transferring individuals to the hospital by road.
They began to do so after NHS Scotland Assure issued a safety action notice for all hospital helipads to be reviewed following a fatal incident in Plymouth.
This action was recommended by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) “to minimise the risk of injury from downwash to uninvolved persons”.
As a result, Bristow UK decided to withdraw from 23 “red” list landing sites across the country – including ARI – while safety reviews were being carried out.
The firm, which operates HM Coastguard search and rescue services, makes up around 10% of all landings at the helipad.
Offshore Helicopter Services UK Ltd (OHSUK), responsible for offshore transfers and medevacs, also confirmed it would be “temporarily suspending” landings at ARI.
A spokesperson said the Aberdeen-based firm was taking a “risk-based approach” to avoid any serious incidents.
Improvements to be made to ARI helipad
In the months since, NHS Grampian has made “positive progress” to improve the site so all landings can resume.
One of the requirements is for the downwash zone for large helicopters to extend 50 to 65 metres from the edge of a ground level hospital landing site “clear of people, parked cars and buildings” to reduce risk.
Aviation experts from the Helideck Certification Agency staged a site visit in November.
A working group has also been appointed and work is now under way for a full improvement plan to be put in place.
An NHS Grampian spokesperson said: “We are committed to restoring as many helicopter landings at ARI as possible and making improvements to the helipad in light of the safety action note issued in September 2024.
“We have appointed Helideck Certification Agency Ltd as our ‘competent person’ to assist us.
“They are an Aberdeen based firm, with global experience in assessing helicopter landing sites.
“They have inspected the site and we are currently considering their findings and costing the work required.”
Bristow UK said safety is always the firm’s “first priority”.
“We continue to work with the NHS Boards which manage and maintain Hospital Helicopter Landing sites to ensure continued safe operations within CAA guidelines,” a spokesperson said.
‘There is now a way forward’
Andrew Bowie MP added: “I was very concerned, as I think we all were, that SAR helicopters were told not to land at hospital sites.
“It was worrying news for ARI and indeed other Scottish hospitals which now have to account for ambulance transfers in emergency situations.
“The events in 2022 rightly caused introspection about safety features and I’m confident the right moves are going ahead to sort this out.”
Conversation