Guys
I have done some ringing around and have found the following.
When the new arrangements are put out to tender (and they will be) the preferred operator will provide:
Two crewed helicopters and one un-crewed reserve.
There will be one operator or one consortium with one point of contact for NSW Health.
The specs will be written around a 412. Face this fact. Right or wrong, like it or not, that is what the ambos want, fact of life. End of story.
BK117s are soon going to be part of NSW EMS history. I think this is a very narrow view but we are talking ambos remember.
Preferred crewing model is the same as Surf and CareFlight use now. Provision of doctors is being arranged outside of the helicopter tender.
Tenderers will be assessed on cost, track record of reliability and co-operation with NSW Health.
Any thing less than a 412 will not get a look in.
Reading between the lines, I believe there are only two contenders. They are Careflight/Surf V CHC. As both parties will be offering the same equipment one assumes the costing will be similar.
The awarding of the contract may well come down to reputation and NSWs Health experience in dealing with those parties.
Let me tell you that the ambos are delighted with the pending arrival of their CHC 412 in the Gong.
A message to Careflight. Teaming up with Surf might mark the end of your helicopter wing. But as I understand it, helicopters are only one facit of Careflights operation. And I am told that moves have already been made by Careflight to reduce capital assets in this area.
So it looks to me like after all these years and all the work that has gone into establishing the NGO operators it is about to come to an end. It looks like we are going to hand it all to a foreign-owned company. I wonder what the contributing public will have to say. It would be nice to think they would raise hell but this is not happening in the Gong.
As for Blue, ambulance are a big animal, they don’t like surprises, Blue likes his job. He will tell exactly what they want to hear. And they want to hear 412s. Ask one of them for your self.
Unfortunately neither Surf nor CareFlight have any current 412 expertise.
Sad times for the current operators.