Oxford Road Campus Helipad

We were delighted when, in May 2021, we were able to announce the first elevated Helipad of its kind in the North West was now serving patients at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.

The lifesaving helipad at our Oxford Road Campus opened to patients on Monday, 10^th May 2021.

The state-of-the-art helicopter landing pad, which is situated on the roof of Grafton Street car park on Oxford Road Campus, enables critically ill or injured babies, children and adults to be airlifted straight to our hospitals in Manchester city centre.

The helipad brings adults and children with life threatening injuries to the Major Trauma Centres at Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH), both co-located on the Oxford Road Campus of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust site in the centre of Manchester.

Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH) is the Children’s Major Trauma Centre for the entire Greater Manchester region and one of only two dedicated Children’s Major Trauma Centres in the whole of the North West, providing care for seriously ill or injured children. Manchester Royal Infirmary is one of two Major Trauma Centres in Manchester providing care to adults with life threatening injuries related to trauma.

In an emergency, being able to land just minutes away from specialist care at MRI or RMCH is crucial. The helipad means patients are transferred to MRI’s Emergency Department in less than three minutes and to RMCH’s Paediatric Emergency Department in less than six minutes.

Speaking on the day of opening, Alistair Rennie, Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Major Trauma at the MRI and RMCH and Group Clinical Lead for Emergency Planning said: “The helipad will benefit major trauma patients across Greater Manchester and beyond, including people who have suffered serious injuries in road traffic accidents, assaults, sudden illnesses or falls in areas difficult to reach by road ambulances.

“As a consultant in Emergency Medicine, we know the quality and speed of specialist medical care following a major trauma injury is vital to ensuring patients have the best chance of a full recovery. In these situations, patients need to be transferred to a Major Trauma Centre, which we have on site here at the MRI (Adults) and RMCH (Children’s).

“I am delighted this development is now a reality at MFT’s Oxford Road Campus, as for many patients our helipad could represent the difference between life and death.”

A phenomenal £3.9million towards the helipad was raised in just 12 months by our Charity’s Time Saves Lives Appeal.

This included £1.1million from the government’s LIBOR fines funds in the Chancellor’s Budget and a generous donation of £1.36million from the County Air Ambulance Trust’s HELP (Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads) Appeal. The HELP Appeal is dedicated to funding hospital and air ambulance helipads across the country. The Charity was also grateful to receive a significant donation from The Stoller Charitable Trust.

Speaking at the launch in 2021, MFT Chairman Kathy Cowell OBE DL said: “There are a number of big organisations who made this possible with their significant donations, but it is also important to acknowledge our families, local businesses and fundraising events which also made generous contributions too.

“I’d like to extend a big ‘thank you’ to all those people who ran a marathon, held a bake sale or took part in one of our Charity events. Every single person who made a donation is now helping save a life.”

In addition to the services available at MRI and RMCH, Saint Mary’s Hospital (SMH) provides specialist and emergency care for women and babies with a 24-hour High Dependency Obstetrics Unit. It also has one of the largest neonatal intensive care units offering surgical and medical care for newborn babies, co-located with RMCH.

Lorcan Duane, Paediatric Emergency Department Lead for Major Trauma at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital said: “The helipad not only benefits children with major trauma injuries, but also children who need time critical transfers from other hospitals for specialist care and treatment at either RMCH or SMH. The speed with which a helicopter can transfer these types of patients is crucial and our helipad now gives air ambulance patients the safest and quickest place to land, directly at MFT.”

The helipad has been commissioned by the Air Ambulance Operators and inspected by the Civil Aviation Authority international (CAAi) to ensure it complies with the regulatory standards for helipads at hospital sites.

Previously air ambulances carrying critically ill or injured patients to hospitals on Oxford Road had to use a secondary landing site in parkland a mile away. Patients were then transferred by road ambulance.

In March 2022 we were delighted to host Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to conduct an official opening of the Helipad.