Royal Hobart Hospital Helideck Helps Save Lives

Background

Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) is the primary hospital for the state of Tasmania. It is the second oldest hospital in Australia, serving the community since 1804.

RHH provides acute, sub-acute, mental health, aged care inpatient and ambulatory services to a population of about 250,000 people.

After the RHH underwent significant upgrades, the ground-level helipad was no longer viable.

As the major hospital for the state, the hospital needed a permanent elevated helideck to deal with time-sensitive trauma cases.

RHH has around 250 trauma cases per year, and the infrastructure was required to increase the impact the hospital could have on saving these lives.

A new helideck would deliver aeromedical patients with minimal impact on neighbouring business and residents near the CBD.

The Challenge

The project scope called for a customised solution to work in conjunction with the helideck to cater for medevac emergencies.

The lighting requirements also stated minimal maintenance by the hospital. Pilot Activation Lighting Controls (PALC) was an essential factor in enabling activation by pilots on approach and facilitating safe landing.

The system needed to be designed in line with domestic and international guidelines for medical helicopter operations.

The lights needed to be easy to install and be developed in tandem with the helideck contractor and the hospital builder.

Solution

Aluminium Offshore, the helideck provider for the RHH project, selected an Avlite Helipad solution.

A critical factor in their decision was Avlite’s ability to produce a specialised Control System with Pilot Activated Lighting Control System (PALC) integration.

The lighting selected was Avlite’s Elevated Heliport lights, designed for the perimeter of the helideck, with inset lighting used for approach directional lighting. Floodlights and an illuminated windsock were also integrated into the system.

In total, thirty-five AV-HL-AC Elevated Lights were used to light the edge of the hospital’s helideck.

These Elevated Heliport Lights have a number of benefits:

• An advanced light optic with a single LED for minimal power consumption.
• A corrosion-resistant polycarbonate lens specifically designed for use with LEDs to maximise light intensity and uniformity.
• A low-profile light head made from tough, impact-resistant polymers in aviation yellow, mounted to the top of a weatherproof powder-coated aluminium enclosure.
• Alight fixture with integrated power supply incorporates a frangible housing lid.
• Ten AV-HLI2 Inset lights were used on the helideck to light the approach direction. The LED Inset Helipad lights are designed to be able to optimise light output using a compact and semi-flush design.
• The fully sealed optics and electronics of this light maximise resistance to liquid and dust intrusion and mechanical shocks, with built-in surge protection and Safe Extra Low Voltage compliance.

IR is also included within the lights, allowing pilots to use Night Vision Goggles (NVG) when landing on the helipad.

Floodlights were added to the perimeter to aid with surface-level operations on the helideck. Eight lights were integrated into the system.

Benefits of our floodlights include an optic hood for reduced glare to pilots with a custom lens optic. The floodlight has an easily adjustable tilt angle to maximise helipad illumination. The electronics enclosure is rated to IP68.

Outcome

Avlite’s helideck lighting solution helps provide RHH with the best conditions to serve the community for trauma, helping save lives in the process. It provides superior visibility in all conditions, requiring minimal maintenance and ensures the maximum safety for critical patients in the take-off and landing area.

The helideck at RHH is the only landing site for all helicopters at the hospital.

“Tasmania was at risk of being an outlier… the helipad let us (support best practice) for trauma and a lot of other time-critical illnesses.” – Dr Sandy Zalstein, Director State Trauma Services and Head of Trauma, RHH