Air ambulances
Two air ambulance charities currently provide cover 365 days a year for the counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk (East Anglian Air Ambulance) and Essex.
But, following the merger to form the six-county East of
England Ambulance Service (EEAS), these existing operations are set to
extend into Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire provided sufficient funds
can be raised.
The distinctive yellow helicopters have become a familiar sight across the region’s skies in the past few years, with thousands of patients receiving sometimes life-saving intervention from the crews of paramedics and doctors.
Both helicopters are run largely by charitable donations and rely on the goodwill of local people to keep them in the air.
Why an air ambulance?
Air ambulance cover can make a crucial
difference in a medical emergency. The
helicopter’s speed and its ability to access
remote areas make it an ideal
solution to the particular problems posed by the more rural parts of
our region.
It also sometimes provides by far the fastest method of reaching locations difficult to access by a land ambulance, such as beaches, docks and golf courses.
The golden hour
The medical profession is strongly of the opinion that a
patient’s chances of survival are far greater if they reach hospital
within one hour, often called the
golden hour. Our air a
mbulances get the
paramedic on scene fast, the patient to hospital fast and free up land
ambulances for front-line work.
Many of the calls we attend are to road accidents, and the air ambulances enable us to take patients with serious head injuries rapidly and comfortably direct to neurological specialists without having to go to a local A&E and wait for transfer.
Funding and thanks
The continued generosity of the general public and local businesses has contributed to another successful year. The charities, which are separate from the EEAS, rely on volunteers and we are grateful to those people who willingly give up their time to help in the fundraising activities. More good examples of the work of the air ambulance can be seen on the charities’ websites:
