LIFESAVING work continued last year for The Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance despite ongoing challenges.
Despite the lasting impact from the pandemic, the charity has continued to provide frontline, round-the-clock, critical care as they responded to some 1,370 call-outs in the county and further afield.
Incidents in Warwickshire totalled 381, Northamptonshire had 375 with further incidents responded to across the West Midlands.
Similar to 2020, as a result of another lockdown, there were fewer cars on the roads, but both crews remained busy responding to more medical incidents – 35 per cent – while road accidents made up a quarter of call-outs. Other missions were a result of assaults, self-harm, and mental health incidents while a few falls, sports and industrial accidents were also attended to.
Charity CEO Andy Williamson said: “Starting 2021 with another lockdown continued to impact our lifesaving charity’s funds as more fundraising events had to be cancelled, and our stores remained closed.
“Despite this, our 24/7 lifesaving service enhanced further as we brought on board two brand new replacement aircraft which, as you can see from our stats, continued to remain on the frontline, fully operational for those who needed us.
“As a charity, our mission is clear – to continue providing leading pre-hospital emergency care to our patients and to support the NHS. This year our vital service will again be there – 365 days a year – for those in their hour of need, but to do this we need the support of people within our communities now more than ever before.”
The charity has plans to further develop in 2022. This includes bringing blood onboard, training paramedics in the use of ultrasound equipment, as well as upgrading its critical care cars and base facilities for the crews.
And it is calling on the communities it serves to show their support as the charity builds on the thousands of missions it has attended since its launch in 2003.
Visit www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk or call 0300 3045 999 for more information.
