Bundaberg Hospital’s helipad will be partly closed over the next three weeks to enable vital work to occur on the roof of a nearby building.
The helipad will be closed to non-critical flights between 6am to 6pm on weekdays and 6am to 4pm on Saturdays between February 3-21, with helicopters still able to access the site outside of those times.
The closure is the safest option that will still allow contractors to complete work on the roof of A Block without roofing sheets, tools and other objects becoming potential hazards.
“Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service has been undertaking work to upgrade its pathology laboratories in A Block and we need to partly close the nearby helipad to allow work on the roof to take place,” Acting Executive Director of Acute Hospital and Community Services James Thomas said.
“The risk of a roofing sheet or tool being swept off the roof causing injury during a helicopter take off or landing means we need to close the helipad to non-critical flights to enable this essential work to be completed.
“Non-critical presentations will be relocated to Bundaberg Airport during this time while for critical flights the contractor will be able to clear the roof area and within 30 minutes make it safe for a landing to take place.”
Retrieval Services Queensland will work alongside the Bundaberg Hospital Emergency department to coordinate all transfers between Bundaberg Airport and Bundaberg Hospital via Queensland Ambulance.
“We will also be reducing the impact of the closure by remaining open at times the contractor is not on site,” Mr Thomas said.
“The contractor will also be ensuring the roof is regularly cleared of non-essential loose objects at regular intervals throughout the day to ensure we decrease the amount of items that will need to be removed if a critical flight comes in.
“I would like to thank our project team and the contractor for their careful planning that hopefully will minimise the disruption to our services and thank the community for their ongoing patience while this work on A Block takes place.”
