Air ambulance services in the United Kingdom

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Air ambulance services in the United Kingdom provide emergency air medical services, patient transport between specialist centres, or medical repatriation. Services are provided by a mixture of organisations, operating either helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft. All emergency air ambulance helicopters in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are operated by charities, while Scotland has one charity service with two helicopters in addition to its two NHS-funded helicopters. Fixed-wing air ambulances, used for patient transport, may be government or privately operated. Air ambulance helicopters are complemented by Coastguard SAR helicopters.

Contents

History

The first air ambulance services in the UK commenced in Scotland in November 1933, with a flight from Wideford Airport, Kirkwall, Orkney. The first night time ambulance flight was undertaken in February 1939, from Wideford to the island of Sanday, using car headlights to help take off and landing. The aircraft used was a General Aircraft Monospar, registration G-ACEW, operated by Highland Airways.

The first air ambulance charity to operate a helicopter was Cornwall Air Ambulance in 1987. [1] There are now 21 air ambulance charities in the UK. [2]

Emergency air ambulances

Emergency air ambulances are generally helicopter based, and used to respond to medical emergencies in support of local ambulance services. In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, all of these services are charitably funded, and either directly owned by the charity, or operated under contract with a private provider. [3] The ambulance staff and doctors crewing these flights are generally seconded from the local NHS ambulance service and NHS hospitals. In Scotland, there is the only publicly-funded air ambulance service, with the Scottish Ambulance Service operating two Airbus Helicopters H145 helicopters and two fixed wing aircraft in this role, alongside two charity-funded Eurocopter EC135 helicopters, operated by Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance.

OrganisationAircraftRegistrationPhotograph
Cornwall Air Ambulance 2 x AW169G-CRWL [4] Penzance - air ambulance at St Clare (May 2020) cropped.jpg
G-CNLL
The Air Ambulance Service AW109SP G-DRLA G-DRLA (51086540722).jpg
AW109SP G-WNAS
2 x AW169 G-NICU
G-CPTZ
Devon Air Ambulance H145 G-DAAS [5] G-DAAS Eurocopter EC145 Helicopter (Devon Air Ambulance).jpg
EC135 G-DAAN EC135 - RIAT 2013 (9699699173).jpg
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance AW169 G-DSAA G-DSAA Agusta Westland 169 Helicopter SAS Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (31094207335).jpg
East Anglian Air Ambulance 2 x H145 G-RESU G-RESU Airbus MBB-BK 117 Helicopter Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore Ltd (30723119285).jpg
G-HEMC G-HEMC (32597246695).jpg
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance AW169 G-EHAT G-EHAT - Leonardo AW169 - Gama Aviation East Anglian Air Ambulance at John Innes Centre Norwich.jpg
AW169 G-HHEM EHAAT AW169.jpg
Great North Air Ambulance [6] AS365 N2 G-NHAC Great North Air Ambulance Eurocopter Dauphin AS.365 N2 (G-NHAC).jpg
AS365 N3+ G-NHAD
AS365 N3 G-NHAE
Great Western Air Ambulance EC135 G-GWAC G-GWAC at Gloucestershire Airport.jpg
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance H135 G-HIOW G-HIOW Eurocopter EC135 Helicopter Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Air ambulance Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore Ltd (35646401042).jpg
Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex 3 x AW169 G-KSST G-KSST Agusta AW169 Helicopter (24619322189).jpg
G-KSSC Air Ambulance St George's.jpg
G-LNAC Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance (G-LNAC).jpg
Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance AW169 G-LNCC G-LNCC Leonardo AW169 Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Op by Heli Service International Waddington 170725.jpg
London's Air Ambulance 2 x H135 G-LAAA
G-LAAB London's Air Ambulance (G-LAAB) at Ruskin Park 01.jpg
Magpas Air Ambulance AW109SP G-MPAS
Midlands Air Ambulance H145 G-RMAA EGWC - Eurocopter EC145 - G-RMAA (43673025532).jpg
2 x EC135 G-OMAA G-OMAA Eurocopter EC135 Helicopter Babcocok Mission Critical Services Onshore Ltd (32312619222).jpg
G-HWAA G-HWAA Eurocopter EC135 Helicopter Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore Ltd (31661844476).jpg
North West Air Ambulance 3 x EC135 G-NWAA G-NWAA Eurocopter EC135 Helicopter (Babcock Mission Critial Serivces Onshore Ltd) (46273658405).jpg
G-NWAE G-NWAE Eurocopter EC135 Helicopter Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore Ltd (31484910296).jpg
G-NWEM G-NWEM Eurocopter EC135T2 (5845714312).jpg
Northern Ireland Air Ambulance 2 x AW109SP G-HEMZ


G-HEMZ (28383782206).jpg
G-RSCU Agusta A109E Power 'G-RSCU' (23033867874).jpg
Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance 2 x EC135 G-SCAA G-SCAA Prestwick 20181004.jpg
G-EMAA
Scottish Air Ambulance 2 x H145 G-ISAS Air ambulance landing at Glasgow Airport - geograph.org.uk - 7590215.jpg
G-GSAS G-GSAS Eurocopter H145.jpg
2 x King Air 200C G-SASC G-SASC (36804421631).jpg
G-SASD G-SASD (36317634432).jpg
Thames Valley Air Ambulance EC135 G-TVLY [7]
Wales Air Ambulance
and Children's Wales Air Ambulance
5 x H145 G-WENU G-WENU Eurocopter EC145 Helicopter (Wales Air Ambulance) Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore Ltd (35487393015).jpg
G-WOBR G-WOBR Eurocopter EC145-MBB-BK117 Helicopter Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore Ltd (31701732255).jpg
G-WROL G-WROL Eurocopter EC145 Helicopter Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore Ltd Op for Welsh Air Ambulance (35928436820).jpg
G-LOYW [8] Wales Air Ambulance G-LOYW.jpg
G-WDYN
Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance Charity Bell 429 G-WLTS [9] Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance helicopter.jpg
Yorkshire Air Ambulance 2 x H145 D3G-YORX [10] Yorkshire Air Ambulance G-YORX.jpg
G-YAAA [11]

Patient transport operations

Privately operated fixed wing air ambulance from the UK Mercy Jets Gulfstream Air Ambulance.jpg
Privately operated fixed wing air ambulance from the UK

There are also a number of public and private patient transport operations in the UK, generally using fixed wing aircraft, and which are part of a system of moving patients between points of care, or as part of a repatriation to the UK. SkyAngels Air Ambulance charity, flying out of Norwich International Airport [NWI], is a dedicated patient air transfer service with one helicopter and a number of fixed-winged aircraft under contracts to provide a service to the NHS. [12] There is a helicopter based patient transfer service, focused on paediatric cases, called the Children's Air Ambulance, which first flew in 2012. [13]

The Scottish Ambulance Service operates two fixed wing aircraft in this role, with patients flown to the mainland UK for treatment. [14] In 2015, the neonatal, paediatric and adult emergency care and retrieval operations were brought together with the Scottish Ambulance Service and utilise the aircraft and road ambulances for this purpose. They are co-located at the Scottish Ambulance Air Base at Glasgow International Airport.

The Isle of Man Department of Health and Social Care operates a fixed-wing air ambulance for patient transport between the island and mainland hospitals. [15]

The Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey have a Beechcraft King Air B200 air ambulance, operated by Gama Aviation since July 2020, that transports patients to England for treatment that they cannot receive on the islands. [16] In Jersey this is coordinated by the Jersey Emergency Transport Service (JETS). [17] In addition, Aurigny operate a medical evacuation service from Alderney to Guernsey. [16]

Notable accidents involving air ambulances

See also

References

  1. "Cornwall Air Ambulance marks 35 years of saving lives". BBC News. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  2. "About us". Air Ambulances UK. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023. Air Ambulances UK is the national organisation championing and supporting the lifesaving work of the UK's 21 air ambulance charities.
  3. "Amazing Facts about your Air Ambulance". Association of Air Ambulances. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  4. "Cornwall Air Ambulance gives first glimpse of highly anticipated helicopter". Cornwall Air Ambulance. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  5. "The sky's the limit". Devon Air Ambulance Trust. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  6. "The helicopters". Great North Air Ambulance Service. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  7. Manivannan, Hari (6 October 2022). "MEET G-TVLY, OUR NEW HELICOPTER". Thames Valley Air Ambulance. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  8. "Wales chooses name for new Charity Air Ambulance". Wales Air Ambulance. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  9. Ambulance, Our helicopter and cars | Wiltshire and Bath Air. "Our helicopter and cars | Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance". Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance Charity. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  10. McKune, Kara (6 June 2023). "Reaching new heights: Yorkshire Air Ambulance charity is set to unveil new helicopter at its base in Wakefield". Wakefield Express. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  11. "Yorkshire Air Ambulance Unveils its new helicopter G-YAAA". Yorkshire Air Ambulance. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  12. "Norfolk firm places order for a FLYING CAR". Eastern Daily Press. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  13. "The Children's Air Ambulance". Express and Echo. 18 December 2012. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  14. "New air ambulance for NI after flight ordeal". BBC News.
  15. "Air Ambulance". Isle of Man Government . Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  16. 1 2 "Channel Islands air ambulance changes provider". BBC News. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  17. Stewart, Alexander Michael; McNay, Ryan; Thomas, Ranji; Mitchell, Andrew R. J. (1 April 2011). "Early aeromedical transfer after acute coronary syndromes" . Emergency Medicine Journal. 28 (4): 325–327. doi:10.1136/emj.2009.089441. ISSN   1472-0205. PMID   20581380.
  18. Air Accidents Investigation Branch. "BN2A-26 Islander, G-BEDZ, 19 May 1996". GOV.UK. Department for Transport, Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  19. Helicopter crash kills three BBC News, 27 July 1998
  20. "AAIB Bulletin No: 2/2000" (PDF). Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  21. "Air ambulance crash pilot cleared". BBC News. 19 February 2004.
  22. "Piper PA-31-350, G-BMBC" (PDF). AAIB . Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  23. "Air crew search called off". BBC News. 15 March 2005.