NSW Ambulance denies telling rescue pilots not to use Canberra Hospital's new helicopter parking pad and no patients were impacted when an aircraft was grounded on the helipad for 12 hours in April.
Canberra Hospital's new helipad, unveiled in August 2024 as part of the $660 million expansion project, has a landing park and parking bay.
This allows two helicopters to be on the helipad at the same time without being parked in, so both could depart when needed.
As the major hospital in the southern NSW region, Canberra Hospital regularly takes on emergency patients from the Snowy Mountains, South Coast and other parts of regional NSW.
Toll Rescue helicopters are staffed by directly employed pilots, while NSW Ambulance and Canberra Health Services provide medical staff.
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has previously said the parking bay was "an extra addition" to the hospital.
A notice on aviation site Ozrunway says that as of June 2025 the helipad is a single aircraft landing spot "irrespective of where a helicopter parks".
"[NSW] Ambulance have prohibited a second aircraft arrival or departure when an aircraft is on the parking pad. And the parking pad is NOT approved for arrivals or departures," a notice says.
A Canberra Health Services spokesperson said on Friday that "Canberra Health Services understands that NSW Ambulance Service does not wish to use the parking pad at this time".
"We are working closely with NSW Ambulance Service to understand their position and identify appropriate next steps."
However, a NSW Ambulance spokesperson denied helicopters were banned from using the parking pad.
A spokesperson said pilots had used both landing and parking spots and there were no reported impacts to services.
In response to previous questions, a Canberra Health Services spokesperson said the parking pad was available for use and pilots could use it at their own discretion.
"Once a helicopter lands on the helipad, it can move to the parking pad," they said.
The helipad was designed and constructed with specialist aviation consultants who ensured it complied with Australian and international standards.
"Key stakeholders including Toll Helicopters and NSW Ambulance Service were involved throughout the process," they said.
Aircraft tracking data from Flight Radar 24 shows that a Toll Rescue helicopter was grounded for 11 hours overnight on April 27 to 28.
NSW Ambulance said a mechanical issue on the helicopter was identified when it was on the helipad, and there was no impact on patients or clinical services.
No other helicopter landed on the helipad during that time.
"The helicopter was positioned on the hospital's main helipad at the time, and no other aircraft required access during the period it remained on the pad," the spokesperson said.
More recently, a rescue helicopter appeared to leave the pad to allow another to land.
On May 20, a helicopter departed for the nearby ACT Rural Fire Service helibase in Hume nine minutes before another arrived.
A Canberra Health Services spokesperson said the arriving helicopter's "flight path was direct and did not require any diversion".
"There was no impact and there was no need for two helicopters to be on the helipad," they said.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith and Canberra Health Services have previously faced questioning about the helipad.
In April 2025, The Canberra Times asked Canberra Health Services whether a helicopter had caused damage to the helipad.
A spokesperson said that a loose facade panel was found close to the helipad in mid-October, 2024.
The panel was repaired immediately and the helipad was closed for "a very short period of time on the day". The parking bay was closed for a longer period of time for "improvements".
In November 2025, Canberra Liberals MLA Leanne Castley asked Ms Stephen-Smith whether pilots had raised concerns about rotor wash when leaving the parking pad.
Rotor wash is when air propelled by a helicopter's blades damage property or kick up debris.
The minister, Ms Stephen-Smith said some concerns had been raised about the parking pad's design but it had not caused disruptions.
"It was never intended that it would be a regular thing that a helicopter would be parked and another one would be ... there at the same time," she said.
"We obviously only used to have one helipad previously anyway, so the parking bay was an extra addition."
The minister later said in a statement that since commissioning the helipad Infrastructure Canberra was aware of "five minor defects".
"Four have been rectified and the remaining defect relates to line marking paint that has cracked and is planned to be rectified during December 2025," she said last year.
Other questions have been raised about the new Critical Services Building at Canberra Hospital.
An architect had been commissioned to redesign a staffing area in the emergency department before staff became trapped in it for several hours.
On May 19, the Canberra Liberals asked Ms Stephen-Smith how often duress alarms in the Critical Services Building stopped working.
She said occasionally, across the health system, alarms do not function but there are plans in place for when that occurs. The minister took on notice a question on whether the alarm system was working on April 22 when staff were trapped.
- with Lucy Arundell
