A NEILSTON man is celebrating after securing funds to build a new helipad at a remote hospital.
Stuart McLellan has led a campaign to secure £270k in funding from the Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads (HELP) appeal to build a “fit for purpose” helipad at Campbeltown Hospital.
Stuart, who is a Student Ambulance Technician has a longstanding connection to Campbeltown.He spent many summers there as a child and regularly visits relatives in the town.
He started the campaign to build a helipad when he noticed air ambulances often had to divert to Campbeltown Airport in order to land due to challenges with ground conditions and waterlogged fields.
Working with a wide range of partners such as NHS Highland, Campbeltown Community Council and South Kintyre Development Trust, Stuart has now been able to submit a planning application to Argyll and Bute Council.
The new helipad will mean that patients can be transferred to and from the hospital and all times of day and in all weather conditions.
Stuart said: “I’m delighted to have been able to get this project this far for Campbeltown its long overdue, I’ll be even happier when I’m standing on the embankment watching the first Helicopter land on the purpose built helipad which the Community have needed for quite some time.
A spokesman for NHS Highland said: “We are delighted to be working with Mr McLellan and the other partners in the development of the helipad project and we look forward to continuing to work with them over the coming months as the project moves forward.”
Mike Russell comment
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