THE future of the helipad at Maidstone Hospital is in doubt after trust chiefs admitted the cost of finding a new site may lead to its closure.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust chief executive Rose Gibb told Kent County Council's NHS scrutiny committee that the days of the existing site were numbered.

The Civil Aviation Authority has changed safety regulations about helicopters landing at hospitals. A temporary agreement was reached with the CAA and the Kent Air Ambulance Trust about continued landings earlier this year.

The existing site falls foul of these rules because it is too close to hospital buildings. The trust also faces increased insurance charges.

Ms Gibb said: "We have about two years' leeway left on the helipad and at the moment we have no plans to relocate it. If we wanted to move it, it would cost between £400,000 and £500,000.

"It is not just about taking up a chunk of the car park or a field. The legislation governing the siting of helipads is phenomenal.

"It is going to be a real issue in two years' time. Which is more important--investing £500,000 in a helipad or £500,000 in anaesthetic equipment?

"The future of the air ambulance at Maidstone and the survival of accident and emergency are not related. There is one helipad in the whole of London where there are more A&E departments than hot dinners."

Julian Sands, the trust's lead clinician for Accident and Emergency services, said the importance of the air ambulance to emergency care was overstated.

The meeting heard that of the 94 patients brought in last year, 18 per cent were seen and discharged from A&E without serious injury. The helipad is used on average once a week.

Dr Sands, said: "It is difficult to hinge the whole of A&E Services on 94 patients a year where there is a fully operational helipad five minutes away in Medway."

David Philpott, chief executive of the Kent Air Ambulance Trust said he was disappointed by the comments made at the meeting.

He said: "We have always made it clear that the option of Medway in no way mitigates the need for a landing site at Maidstone.

"Under CAA rules we are only allowed to take people in unless they have a life threatening condition. It may only be five minutes to Medway but in that five minutes someone could lose their life.

"My recollection of events is that Maidstone Hospital approached us to discuss moving the helipad to a raised location adjacent to the main road.

"Our chief pilot expressed the opinion that although the landing site was ideal there would be significant cost implications because traffic lights would have to be installed and street lighting would need to be relocated.

"We are current in discussions about a new helipad to replace one that was closed at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. That will cost less than £4,000."