Island Health hopes to reopen helipad at Tofino hospital in 2018

The health authority for Vancouver Island hopes to replace the defunct helipad at the Tofino General Hospital in 2018.

The helipad was taken out service in2011 because it didn't meet Transport Canada standards.

Patients who needanair ambulance must be transferred 20 minutes by road to the regional airport.

TofinoMayor JosieOsbornesaid a new helipadis badly needed.

"This is absolutely critical to the health services here in Tofino for the region as the only hospital on the island without an attached helipad,"Osbornesaid.

The replacement of the Tofino helipadhas been delayed by issues concerningtree height and land ownership, but Island Health believes those problems havebeen resolved.

The health authority ishiring an engineering firm to come up with a plan to make the necessary upgrades.

"Hopefully we have everything lined up so we can get this completed," saidChris Sullivan, thedirector of capital planning for Island Health.

"We want to have helipads at all of our hospital sites."

Long overdue

Funding for the project will be explored once engineers come up with a design, Sullivan said.

Local and regional government officials have long called for the replacement of the helipad.

• Whale-watching tragedy renews calls for new Tofino helipad

Those calls grew louder whenTofino'semergency response capabilities were thrust into the international spotlight after a whale-watching vessel capsized in 2015 with 27 people on board.

Osborne says it will be a relief to see the helipad back in service because more people visit the west coast of Vancouver Island each year and more people are choosing to live in the region.

"Knowing that we have quick access to get people out who need it at some of the worst times of their lives is really important."