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Babcock Australasia has extended its contract with the Queensland government to provide emergency helicopter medical services for a further three years.
As part of the deal, the business will also provide a second Bell 412 for operation that will be based at Horn Island Airport.
“Babcock’s highly skilled pilots and aircrew and rescue officers assist the doctors and paramedics on aeromedical retrievals, search and rescue, emergency and counter disaster taskings,” said Babcock’s local managing director of aviation and critical services, Darren Moncrieff.
“They work as an integrated team to transfer patients, including winching operations, to retrieve patients or persons being rescued.
“Our operations are around the clock, with crews flying more than 600 hours and responding to more than 430 missions per year.”
The deal will also see improved access to emergency medical services for communities in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula regions.
“Babcock teams perform both day and night operations, which can prove challenging in the Torres Strait – a region that is prone to extreme weather conditions and transportation to hospital facilities is limited,” said Moncrieff. “The knowledge and experience of our pilots ensures the flight routes are planned and conducted safely and efficiently.”
The news comes after Babcock also recently announced it has extended its rotary-wing contract with the South Australian government until October 2022.
The agreement means the business will continue to deliver emergency medical, search and rescue, and law enforcement services to the state’s Helicopter Rescue Service.
As part of the deal, a new Bell 412 will operate from Adelaide Airport, replacing an EC130.
Babcock is an international provider of engineering services to the defence, emergency services, and oil and gas sectors. Its Australiasia division employs more than 1,100 people.
In April 2017, Australian Aviation reported that then SA premier Jay Weatherill opened Babcock’s new Australasian headquarters in Adelaide.
The new facility was supported by a $2.5 million incentive package from the state government, which meant that Babcock’s aviation businesses would all be based in Adelaide.
