A government inquiry into the handling of aeromedical services has found Western Australia will need more than double its current number of rescue helicopters to service the state in the future.
The 200-plus page report commissioned by WA's chief health officer and prepared by independent consultant Marcus Kennedy came in response to the death of a seaman off the coast of Port Hedland.
A coronial inquest into the tragedy recommended a strategic review of the state's emergency retrieval services.
Dr Kennedy recommended a major overhaul of the system, including stripping the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) of its role to dispatch rescue helicopters.
The department has two emergency helicopters — one based in Jandakot and the other in Bunbury — which have capacity to service 90 per cent of the state.
Dr Kennedy's report found at least one additional aircraft must be added to the fleet immediately.
He said provisions would ideally be made to accommodate up to nine aircraft in the future.
Dr Kennedy said the Midwest had a significant overlap with peri-urban areas north of Perth and lacked a co-located Royal Flying Doctor Service base.
Shadow minister for emergency services Martin Aldridge said the findings came as no surprise.
"The report confirms what we have known for a long time, which is Western Australia is underdone when it comes to aeromedical capacity," he said.
Mr Aldridge said a strong case was presented for WA to expand its fleet of helicopters across the Goldfields, Midwest and Pilbara.
"[It] suggests we need a third helicopter brought online straight away and we need to start working towards increasing capacity for regions such as the Midwest and Goldfields," he said.
Mr Aldridge said the opposition had been lobbying for a third emergency helicopter since 2017 but had no luck.
"I've been a big advocate for additional rescue helicopter capacity in WA for many years now, particularly in the Midwest region," he said.
In the Midwest this year, an RAC chopper has twice been deployed offshore to aid with medical evacuations from separate cruise ship incidents.
Mr Aldridge said regions north of Perth were in desperate need of a base to help improve emergency response times.
"There is some really important information in this report, particularly about the pressure being placed on volunteers who are dealing with more and more priority one transports," he said.
"So having a Midwest-based rescue helicopter would certainly take pressure off volunteers, but more importantly deliver better outcomes for patients."
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson told parliament the state government supported many of the report's recommendations.
She said that included having WA Health play a greater role in managing — and coordinating — services, rather than leaving it to individual providers.
"I am confident that the recommendations from this inquiry will pave the way for a contemporary, fit-for-purpose state-wide and state-managed aeromedical service for WA through enhanced service provision and improved patient outcomes," she said.
