A new purpose-built aeromedical base has opened at Belmont Airport in New South Wales, Australia, Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service said. Also belonging to NSW Ambulance, the base is for medical treatment, and search and rescue operations in northern New South Wales.

"The clinical capability of this new base, its medical and operational crew and aircraft, is state of the art,” said Dominic Morgan, chief executive of NSW Ambulance. “With a NSW Ambulance helicopter paramedic and a Hunter New England Health District doctor on board every primary flight, and each aircraft Newborn and Pediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS) capable, we are able to deliver critical care, mid-air at scene and en-route to hospital.”

According to Morgan, the new base is the latest installment of the New South Wales government’s $151 million Reform Plan for Aeromedical (Rotary Wing) Retrieval Services. The facility cost $5.5 million, Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service said.