The Snowy Hydro SouthCare rescue helicopter was called to five missions in 24 hours during a tough Easter period across the ACT's surrounds.
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The Easter break is typically a busy period for the SouthCare crews. Crowds of people are on the roads, in the bush, on the beach, and exploring the mountains.
This year was no different, with the rescue helicopter called out to five jobs between Saturday and Sunday morning alone.
The first involved a medical trauma case at Bethungra, between Cootamundra and Junee, on Saturday morning. The crew were tasked with taking a burns patient back to Canberra Hospital. They then flew to Cabramurra to treat a man aged in his 40s who suffered a hand injury in a motorcycle accident.
The third mission was to Harden, for a patient transport to Wagga Wagga.
The crew was then dispatched to a mission at Young involving a man in his mid-20s who injured his head in a motorcycle crash.
They got back late Saturday night, but were back in the air again early Sunday morning in Goulburn for a patient transport back to Canberra.
Chief executive officer Chris Kimball said it was always a tough time for staff, who continued to work hard while most Canberrans enjoyed their long weekend off.
"The Easter weekend is one of those periods of peak demand, and I think that's just a reality of the amount of people on the road, the amount of people taking advantage of the long weekend," he said.
"It's obviously a tough period for all the crews. Christmas was also really busy for the guys, I think they had three of four jobs on Christmas Day just gone,"
"The rest of us are enjoying time with the family, but the crews on duty are experiencing peak demand. So it is obviously a difficult time for all of us."
On top of the five missions in 24 hours, the crew also completed a patient transfer from Goulburn on Good Friday, and a primary mission to Narrandera on Thursday night for a car crash.
