Our Crew

One life-saving mission each day...

Paul Brooke, Captain Brad Hanley, Pete McDonell and Phil McHugh at the 2008 Celebrity Ballroom, photo by Miguel Gallagher

Each mission requires at least four crew members on board the helicopter including a pilot, an aircrewman and two medical crew members. Depending on the mission, the medical crew will consist of two paramedics, a paramedic and a doctor, or in rare cases two paramedics and a doctor. Since crew members must be prepared to undertake unpredictable missions in diverse terrain they are continually completing vigorous training so they will be prepared for anything.

With potential missions in the Snowy Mountains region, along the south coast and in erratic weather conditions, crews often have challenges retrieving patients from difficult to reach areas. As a result, aircrews must be alert and work as a team to complete the mission successfully and keep the patient and themselves safe in the process. Similarly, Snowy Hydro SouthCare's doctors and paramedics are the cream of the crop as they often have to complete complicated medical procedures without having the resources of a hospital at their fingertips.

Since the Service is available 24-hours-a-day, everyday of the year, crew members also must be available at all hours to complete missions. This means there is always a crew on duty and that the helicopter base becomes a second-home to crew members during their 24-hour shifts.