When Seconds Matter

A new helipad at Frankston Hospital is now operational — and for the Mornington Peninsula, it marks a profound shift in emergency care.

For years, critically ill patients arriving by air faced an added step — a secondary transfer by road ambulance from a remote landing site. Those minutes, in emergency medicine, can be everything.

Now, patients can be moved directly from helicopter to emergency, to theatre, without delay.

As Deputy Director of Emergency Dr Olga Gaitsgory puts it, “minutes can make a difference in a lot of these medical conditions.”

Dr Olga Gaitsgory : helipad to emergency care will improve outcomes for critically ill patients.
Image: Department of Health Victoria

The upgrade forms part of a broader transformation at Peninsula University Hospital, including a revamped emergency department, new clinical spaces and improved triage facilities.

But it’s the helipad that captures the imagination — a symbol of a health system closing the gap between crisis and care.

Faster transfers. Better outcomes. Lives saved.

On the Peninsula, the distance between help and hope has just become a little shorter.