The Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter service provides a lifesaving, critical lifeline to these communities and watches over the lives of more than 200,000 residents and visitors to the Top of the South region. The rugged coastlines and vast rural expanses means when things go wrong, these regions are vulnerable and isolated. The speed and maneuverability characteristics of a rescue helicopter offer unique advantages over conventional land ambulances and in a life and death situation, the rescue helicopter service may be a patient’s only chance for survival. Our rescue crews make a real different in the lives of our communities. They can provide advanced care to patients much faster. In remote and hard to reach areas, the rescue helicopter can mean the difference between life and death.