Babcock and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) have announced a three-year contract extension to keep the helicopter emergency medical service up in the sky saving lives.

The new contract starts this month and will allow Babcock, a leading UK provider of specialist air ambulance operations, to continue to provide a high standard of HEMS operations to the charity. Babcock is providing HIOWAA with an Airbus H135 helicopter fitted with the latest Night Vision Goggles (NVIS) technology, maintenance and airworthiness management, engineering and highly trained pilots.

Director Babcock UK Onshore, Hayley Belmore, said: “We’re delighted with this contract extension. Since its inception, Babcock has been supporting Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance in carrying out emergency medical services. This new contract sees a move to 19-hour operations on a full-time basis, providing a crucial service for the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. We’ll ensure the continuity of the operation, from the maintenance of the aircraft to the management of the aeronautical team. This is a solid partnership, which confirms a relationship of trust between HIOWAA and Babcock.”

Hampshire and Isle of Wight CEO, Richard Corbett, said: “Extending our flying hours to 19 hours a day, every day, will ensure we can continue to bring our critical care to those who need it most. With our aviation requirements in the safe hands of Babcock, our teams of doctors, paramedics, pilots and dispatch assistants can focus on saving lives in our region.”

Babcock is an international aerospace, defense and security company, with a leading naval business, providing value add services across a range of countries, including the UK, France, Canada, Australia and South Africa. We help customers in the UK and around the world to improve the capability, reliability and availability of their most critical assets.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is a charity established to provide specialist pre-hospital care to the most seriously ill and injured people in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight when they need it most. HIOWAA receives no government funding and relies entirely upon the generosity of individuals and organisations to help save lives. It costs £15,000 a day to maintain the life-saving service, with each mission costing the charity approximately £3,320.

Available both day and night, 365 days a year, the charity’s Critical Care Teams are called out to an average of four incidents every day, including cardiac arrests, road traffic collisions, falls and assaults. The highly skilled crews of doctors, paramedics and pilots, who make up the Critical Care Teams, can be at the scene of an incident within minutes, ready to deliver the same level of care that you would expect from a hospital emergency department.