Innovation and collaboration truly do sit at the heart of what Devon Air Ambulance (DAA) does.

The charity funded service was honoured to be co-recipient of a special ‘Covid-19 Response award’, at the recent Institute of Collaborative Working (ICW) Awards with Babcock Aviation Onshore, the UK’s leading provider of Air Ambulance operations support.

The award was in recognition of the work undertaken by DAA and Babcock in relation to the fit of custom-built barrier technologies, which separate the pilot from the cockpit treatment area on board our Air Ambulances and other projects, including bespoke PPE protective visors for crew helmets.

Ian Payne, Flight Operations Director said “We are very proud of the partnership with Babcock. Working with them to ensure the fit of this bespoke barrier meant we were able to ensure the health and safety of our crews and get back in the air as soon as possible to help even more patients.”
Ian added “These custom-built barriers didn’t just help DAA but also other similar organisations further afield.”

Paul Westaway of Babcock said “By rapidly designing and constructing custom-built barrier technologies for air ambulance helicopters Babcock was able to give customers and on-board teams the confidence to fly life-saving air ambulance missions as the pandemic took hold. Our close work with Devon Air Ambulance was critical in getting their aircraft operational again, back in the sky and ready to support those in desperate need of help at a time when the UK’s emergency services were facing unprecedented pressures.”

He added “Collaboration is absolutely key to Babcock’s work in markets across the globe – it underpins so much of the way we work, and we are incredibly proud that we and Devon Air Ambulance have been recognised by the ICW in this way.”