Inverness helicopter helps out after Sumburgh crew’s lengthy trip south
AN INVERNESS coastguard helicopter made a rare trip to Shetland earlier today (Friday) for a medical transfer – because the Sumburgh crew were unavailable following a lengthy call-out to Orkney and Aberdeen in the early hours.
The Inverness helicopter, a newer model than the Sumburgh-based S92, took a patient from Yell to the Clickimin landing site.
It flew up from Scottish mainland because Shetland’s resident coastguard crew had just returned from a trip to Orkney and then onwards to Aberdeen for a medical transfer in the early hours of the morning.
They were called out not long after midnight and only returned to Sumburgh at roughly 6.30am.
A spokesperson for the coastguard said the call for the Yell transfer then came in at around 8.30am.
“For Sumburgh that was too soon after the previous flight and the risk of fatigue was deemed too great,” they said.
HM Coastguard’s aeronautical rescue coordination centre uses a computer to calculate which is the best resource to send, with Inverness picked in this instance.
The Baltasound, Mid Yell and Lerwick coastguard rescue teams were sent in support for the medical transfer.
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