The first, at 10am, was to a trauma at Tokomaru Bay, from where the team flew the patient in stable condition to Gisborne Hospital.

The second was a mid-afternoon transfer of a patient in serious condition from Gisborne to Waikato Hospital, the team arriving back at the hangar after 8pm to join their night-shift colleagues for their special meal.

The Christmas missions were two of five completed by the team in the seven days from Monday, December 23, with another two hospital transfers, a motor vehicle accident, and a trauma rounding out the dispatches for the week.

CAPTION: CHRISTMAS MISSION: Their mid-morning response to a trauma at Tokomaru Bay was the first of the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter team’s two Christmas Day missions.