The Air Ambulance Service approaches 40,000th mission

The Air Ambulance Service approaches 40,000th mission

19-Jun-2020 Source: Air Ambulance Service

Serving the local communities through their lifesaving service, your local air ambulance is set to complete its 40,000th mission on 24 June.

Since 2003, your local air ambulance which operates the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) and the Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA), has touched the lives of thousands of individuals and families, with each crew attending an average of five missions a day.

Within minutes they can be at an incident delivering pre-hospital critical care to patients in order to give them the best chance of survival and recovery.

Former patient Stephen Underwood, who was engulfed in flames in the inspection pit in his garage when a battery screwdriver he was using ignited fumes from fuel that had leaked from a hole in the car’s petrol tank, highlights just how vital this service is:

“The first 24 hours after the accident were critical and I could have died.

“I try not to think too much about what could have happened but I know that I wouldn’t be here now if it hadn’t been for the air ambulance crew and medical teams who looked after me,” he says.

Based at Coventry Airport and East Midlands Airport, both WNAA and DLRAA carry dedicated Critical Care Paramedics and Doctors, on-board their aircraft and in their critical care car, who are able to perform out of hospital surgical procedures from thoracotomies and caesareans to amputations by the roadside.

Funded by public donations, with each mission costing an average of £1,700, the charity is incredibly proud to be reaching their 40,000th mission next week, and need the continued support from the public to enable them to continue saving lives across their five counties and beyond.

This monumental milestone also highlights the longstanding partnership the charity has with Sloane Helicopters Limited. Based in Northamptonshire’s Sywell Aerodrome, the aircraft operators Sloane, have supported the lifesaving service by providing their aircraft and all auxiliary support services throughout the years.

Sloane helicopters have been chosen again by the charity to provide their next generation of Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) aircraft, which will continue this exceptional partnership for the charity’s next milestones.

Your Local Air Ambulance CEO, Andy Williamson adds: “This is an incredible milestone for the lifesaving service we provide across our counties and further afield.

“You never know when a call will come in for our vital services, but we do know that when it does, our critical care teams are there for everyone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

“We have reached this 40,000 mission milestone as a charity providing continued support to the NHS which has been vital during these last few months. We have been supported by donations from generous individuals and organisations across our communities– on behalf of the charity, we thank you all for that.

“After the difficult time we have all found ourselves in, and with the new replacement aircraft underway, we desperately need the public’s support now more than ever to enable us to continue providing leading pre-hospital emergency care to our patients and to reach that next milestone.”

To help your local air ambulance continue to provide its lifesaving service, please visit www.airambulanceservice.org.uk or call 0300 3045 999

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