Robbo Jock
I've always understood that children aren't taken to a specialist children's hospital unless there's a good reason, but I may be wrong about that. What I do know is that Birmimgham Children's Hospital is nationally (and internationally) renowned so the reference to 'country' in the report may not be a typo.
"Or is this a disgruntled manager about to lose part of their empire empire deciding to blame the CAA and pull the 'children may be affected' ploy "
Apart from genuine concern for the children, why would hospital managers be concerned about whether they are brought in as quickly as possible rather than via another hospital by road transfer?
empire?
Do you think 'empire' might be over-stating it just a little? It's a helipad.
deciding to blame the CAA
Deciding? Was the helipad was going to be closed anyway?
the 'children may be affected' ploy
There's a clue in the name of the hospital.
budget for next year?
How will it affect their budget? Ah! I think I've just worked out where you're coming from. If some of the 40 children die in Accident & Emergency at the first non-specialist hospital, or during the road transfer, Birmingham Children's Hospital treats fewer patients, therefore proportionately lower budget next year. Is that it?
I see Air Ambulance operators have also called for action to save the helipad. Why would it matter to them which hospital helipad they use - unless of course they have an informed and genuine concern for the patients?
Like you, I'm not a professional pilot and not qualified to judge whether the regulations are reasonable or OTT cautious. I always attach a lot of weight to the opinions of the professionals out there doing the job because they're in a better position to judge than anyone else.