Purpose
To outline procedure for requesting helicopter support for lifesaving operations.
Policy
SLSNSW requires all lifesaving services to follow the provided guidelines regarding requesting helicopter support.
Procedure
Scope
Helicopters serve two primary roles in lifesaving operations.
- In-water/coastal search and rescue
- Medical response and evacuation
Request for Assistance Process
- SLSA Life Saver Rescue Helicopters shall be notified/requested via the State Duty Officer.
- For medical emergencies, helicopters may be requested by the State Duty Officer via the NSW Ambulance Service (000). Advise of accessibility issues and specific location details. NSW Ambulance Service will triage all relevant medical emergencies, in line with their operating procedures.
- The State Duty Officer will notify and liaise with NSW Police regarding the most appropriate assets to deploy to all in water / emergency incidents.
Rescue Helicopters
The State Duty Officer who determines that it is appropriate in the circumstances, may request the Westpac Rescue Helicopter for emergencies.
Lifesaving personnel may request the assistance of the SLS Lifesaver Helicopter service, through the State Operations Centre. The State Duty Officer has the final delegated authority to approve or reject a request and is responsible for all liaison with the Westpac Helicopter Service including notification, tasking and communication.
Individual members/services shall not directly contact the Lifesaver Helicopter service bases to request support or advise (this shall only be undertaken by the State Duty Officer).
Note: If a helicopter is airborne and at a location the Forward Commander or service may liaise directly with the helicopter over radio communications. Council Lifeguard services shall either contact the State Operations Center or NSW Police (000) to request helicopter SAR support regarding an incident and shall not contact the service base directly.
It is important to note that the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) may task Life Saver helicopters direct to assist with major search operations. Procedures exist to ensure other lifesaving services are advised of such – particularly where the incident is coastal. In such cases standard joint-operations may continue, however SLS Life Saver helicopters will be under the control of AMSA, rather than the NSW Police (who is the normal combat agency/incident controller for SAR incidents that lifesaving services are involved in).
Note that this is only a helicopter request and that a support response by helicopter may not always be available or most appropriate.
Reference
Australian Maritime Safety Authority – Search and Rescue
NSW Ambulance – Operations
NSW Police – Aviation Command
NSW Police – Marine Area Command