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Founded | 1989 |
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Type | Charitable organisation |
Location | |
Coordinates | 51°31′05″N0°03′30″W / 51.5180°N 0.0583°W |
Area served | London |
Medical director | Dr Tom Hurst |
CEO | Jonathan Jenkins |
Revenue (2022) | £12.5 million [2] |
Staff (2022) | 78 [2] |
Volunteers (2022) | 169 [2] |
Website | www |
London's Air Ambulance Charity is a registered charity that operates a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) dedicated to responding to serious trauma emergencies in and around London. [3] Using a helicopter from 08:00 to sunset and rapid response vehicles by night, the service performs advanced medical interventions at the scene of the incident in life-threatening, time-critical situations.
The charity was founded in 1989 by General Surgeon Dr. Richard Earlam in response to a report by the Royal College of Surgeons, which documented cases of patients dying unnecessarily because of the delay in receiving prompt and appropriate medical care. The charity was the first in the UK to carry a senior doctor in addition to a paramedic at all times on a helicopter, introducing a system that reduces the death rate in severe trauma by 30–40%. [4]
The helicopters are hangared at RAF Northolt, [5] but operate during the day from their base at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, East London. A helicopter can reach any patient inside the M25 London orbital motorway, which acts as the service's catchment area, within 15 minutes. Missions commonly involve serious road traffic collisions, falls from height, stabbings and shootings, industrial accidents and incidents on the rail network. The team can perform advanced life-saving medical interventions, including open heart surgery, blood transfusion and anaesthesia, at the scene. The charity operates 24 hours a day, serving the 10 million people who live, work and travel within the M25. The service treats an average of five patients every day.
London's Air Ambulance Charity has been at the forefront of innovation in pre-hospital emergency medical care since its inception in 1989. The service has adopted elements of medical, military and aviation culture to deliver the highest standards in intensive care to the roadside. The governance system and standard operating procedures (SOP) developed by the organisation are seen as a benchmark for other air ambulances across the world.[ citation needed ]
London's Air Ambulance carries a senior doctor in addition to a paramedic at all times, providing a 24/7 advanced trauma care outside of hospital, provide general anaesthetics on scene, and carry blood on board and administer blood transfusion on the roadside. From 2018, a consultant in pre-hospital emergency medicine will be present on most shifts, in addition to the other physician and paramedic.
In 2014, London's Air Ambulance performed the first pre-hospital resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA). [6] [7] [8] Other key treatments performed by the service include surgical chest draining (thoracostomy), surgical and non-surgical rapid sequence induction (RSI), pelvic splinting (crucial to prevent blood loss in high impact crashes and crush injuries), advanced pain relief and sedation. The service started a trial of a portable brain scanner which can detect blood clots on the brain in April 2015. [9]
The service's first helicopter was an Aérospatiale SA 365N Dauphin. Built in 1982, it was registered G-HEMS, and delivered in December 1988, in time for the launch of the service in 1989. [10] [11] It initially wore a white livery, but was repainted several times, eventually into a red livery following sponsorship by Virgin. [12] It was retired from service in 2000.
Two MD Helicopters MD 902 Explorers are currently in service, registrations G-EHMS and G-LNDN. Both wear the same red-based livery, with green and yellow flashes, and are identical in model, equipment and crew. Typically only one helicopter is operational per day – the other acts as a spare in case of break down, maintenance or, in a major incident, both helicopters are able to deploy. The helicopters usually cruise at 120 knots (220 km/h; 140 mph), at an altitude of anywhere between 500 and 1,000 feet (150 and 300 m). A regular fuel load, around 400 kg (880 lb), allows for one hour's flying time. [13]
Following a children's competition, the two helicopters were given names which are displayed on the side of each aircraft. In February 2016, G-LNDN was named Walter after the winning entrant's grandfather, whilst G-EHMS was named Rowan in April 2016 after the winning entrant's sister. [14] [15]
The charity placed an order with Airbus Helicopters in July 2022 for two Eurocopter EC135s to replace the existing fleet. [16] [17]
G-EHMS was built in 2000 and entered service in October of the same year, replacing the earlier SA 365N Dauphin 2. From 6 March 2012, the helicopter became the UK's first air ambulance to carry emergency blood supplies, allowing transfusions to be administered at the scene of an accident rather than later in hospital. [18] A specialised refrigerator installed in the helicopter allows the transport of four units of the universal O-negative blood type which can be stored in the aircraft for up to 72 hours (unused stocks can be returned to the hospital).
In 2015, the service launched a public appeal to raise £6 million to purchase, convert, equip, and operate a second helicopter. Of the total needed, just over £4M represented the purchase price of the aircraft. [19] £2M was donated by the London Freemasons, [20] [21] which covered half the purchase price. The United Kingdom Government contributed £1M using funds obtained from fines imposed on banks, [21] with the remaining £1M being raised by public subscription.
In January 2016, the service took delivery of its second MD 902, registration G-LNDN. Built in 2008, the aircraft was previously registered in Qatar. [22] In addition to the standard livery, it bears the masonic Square and Compasses symbol on each side, with the words "London Freemasons" lettered under the doors, to reflect the significant funding from the organisation.
At night, or when the helicopters are offline the medical crew still respond to emergencies, but travel in specially equipped Škoda Octavia vRS, Škoda Kodiaq vRS and Volvo XC90 rapid response cars. They are noticeable from other ambulance vehicles as they are painted in red with high-visibility markings to display their advanced trauma team status.
A second four-wheel drive Skoda Kodiaq is also operated seven days a week by the Physician Response Unit (PRU).
In October of 2023, the Charity introduced 6 new Volvo XC90 rapid response cars, expanding their fleet to 3 different vehicle models.
In the year ending March 2021, the charity's income was £12.5 million. Expenditure was £13M, of which £6.9M was used to operate the air ambulance service. [2] Barts Health NHS Trust provides the helipad facility at The Royal London Hospital and remunerates the doctors seconded to and consultants permanently associated with the service. [23] London Ambulance Service employs and remunerates the paramedics seconded to the service. [24] London's Air Ambulance is a registered charity (number 801013) and the service is funded through charitable donations and corporate donors. The charity also runs a lottery for £1 a week to raise funds for the service, and holds a number of small and large scale fundraising events throughout the year. In 2021, it also received £487,000 in government grants. [2]
London's Air Ambulance has attended more than 38,000 missions since its inception in 1989. In 2017, London's Air Ambulance attended 1,797 patient missions and three major incidents.
Over the past 29 years, the service has coordinated on-scene medical response to the majority of London's major incidents, including the 7/7 bombings, the Soho nail bombing, the Grenfell Tower fire, the Bishopsgate, Aldwych, Westminster and London Bridge terrorist attacks and Paddington, Cannon Street and Southall rail crashes. On 7 July 2005, London's Air Ambulance dispatched 18 teams and flew medical supplies to the bomb sites across London, triaging and treating over 700 patients.
The helicopter crew consists of a pilot and co-pilot, in addition to an advanced trauma doctor, paramedic and, on most missions, a consultant. At night or in adverse weather conditions, the same medical crew operate from a rapid response car, which is driven by the paramedic on blue lights and navigated by the doctor.
On arrival at the Royal London Hospital helipad, the dedicated helipad ground crew (fire crew) receive the patient and an express elevator carries the patient to the emergency department in two minutes from the rooftop. [25] A trauma team of A&E doctors, general surgeons, specialist trauma surgeons, and anaesthetists is assembled prior to their arrival to assess and treat them.
Whilst able to transport patients by Air, the overwhelming majority of London HEMS patients are transported in road ambulances by London Ambulance Service crews.
Fire crew must always be present when a helicopter lands or takes off from the helipad.
In 2004, the service was featured heavily in the BBC television series Trauma. [26] In 2009, a standalone documentary about the air ambulance was made for the BBC by North One Television. Medic One: Life and Death in London showcased the service in a number of emergencies. [27] In 1993, the HEMS team were the subject of the pilot episode of the innovative TV series Blues and Twos. The TV crew were filming when the Bishopsgate bomb was detonated. [28] In 1994, they featured in a special episode of the BBC series 999 entitled "The Flying Doctors". They also featured in BBC Two's An Hour to Save Your Life .
The HEMS Medical Director is Dr Tom Hurst.[ citation needed ]
Concerns were expressed in the media after the charity dismissed its chief executive in 2009. [29] The Charity Commission promptly made recommendations on governance to the trustees, but did not express an opinion over the dismissal. [30]
The Physician Response Unit (PRU) is run by the service in partnership with Barts Health NHS Trust and London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The service was remodelled in October 2017 to become a 12-hours a day, seven days a week service thanks to funding from Tower Hamlets Together. [31]
The PRU is staffed by a senior doctor and a London Ambulance Service EAC. The PRU carries advanced medication, equipment and treatments usually only found in hospital, such as instant result blood tests, urine tests and sutures to stitch serious wounds. In the remodelled service's first six months, 68% of patients were treated in the community. [32]
The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is a registered charity and air ambulance based in the United Kingdom. It operates a dedicated helicopter emergency service for the North of England with three aircraft. It serves North Yorkshire, the North-East, Cumbria, the Scottish borders and the Isle of Man.
The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) is an NHS trust responsible for operating ambulances and answering and responding to urgent and emergency medical situations within the London region of England. The service responds to 999 phone calls across the region, and 111 phone calls from certain parts, providing triage and advice to enable an appropriate level of response.
The Scottish Ambulance Service is part of NHS Scotland, which serves all of Scotland's population. The Scottish Ambulance Service is governed by a special health board and is funded directly by the Health and Social Care Directorates of the Scottish Government.
Gareth Davies is a physician and Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine, working for the NHS at the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel. He is best known for his role as lead doctor of the flight crew for the London Air Ambulance (HEMS) and has been seen many times on the BBC documentary television series Trauma, Trauma Uncut and An Hour to Save Your Life He has also made an appearance as a mentor in an episode of the CBBC series Hero Squad, and on Channel 5's Trauma Doctors.
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is an NHS trust responsible for providing National Health Service (NHS) ambulance services in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, in the East of England region. These consist of approximately 6.2 million people across an area of 7,500 square miles (19,000 km2).
The West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMAS UNHSFT) is responsible for providing NHS ambulance services within the West Midlands region of England. It is one of ten ambulance trusts providing England with emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service.
The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is a registered charity, which uses a helicopter to provide an air ambulance service to the English counties of Dorset and Somerset. The air ambulance came into service in March 2000, following the success of similar schemes, such as Devon Air Ambulance and Cornwall Air Ambulance. The air ambulance headquarters are at Wellington in Somerset, but the helicopter is based at Henstridge Airfield in Somerset.
Air ambulance services in the United Kingdom provide emergency medical functions, 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 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.
The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC), formerly County Air Ambulance, is a charity operating a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. It operates three aircraft.
The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is an air ambulance providing Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) across the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. The appeal to fund the service was launched in the summer of 2000 by top jockey Frankie Dettori, who had been a casualty in a serious plane crash a couple of months earlier. When flying commenced in January 2001, the service was initially available only one day a week. The East Anglian Air Ambulance operates two helicopters, 365 days a year, from its bases at Cambridge Airport and Norwich Airport, covering over 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2) and a population of approximately 3.5 million.
The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) is part of ScotSTAR retrieval service. The EMRS provides aeromedical critical care retrieval and pre-hospital care to people in Scotland in the form of two retrieval teams. The service provides patients in remote and rural areas with rapid access to the skills of a consultant or senior doctor in emergency medicine, intensive care medicine or anaesthesia, and facilitates transfers to larger, better equipped urban hospitals. The EMRS functions supplementary to the regular Scottish Ambulance Service Air Ambulance service. Unlike air ambulance services in other parts of the UK, EMRS has no dedicated aircraft but both EMRS North and West are funded by the Scottish Government. The EMRS has featured on the Channel 5 documentary series Highland Emergency, which charts the work of rescue services in the Scottish Highlands.
Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) is an organisation providing emergency medical services through the provision of a helicopter air ambulance covering the four English counties of Kent, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex, which are served by the South East Coast Ambulance Service. The service is funded by the Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex which is a registered charity, raising money from public and private donations in excess of £15 million every year. The charity's aircraft are based and maintained at Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey. Its headquarters and forward operating base are at Rochester Airport in Kent.
North West Air Ambulance is the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) that covers the North West England region, consisting of the counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
The Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance is an air ambulance based across the A15 from RAF Waddington on HEMs Way. The Air Ambulance covers the administrative counties of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire and the unitary authorities of Nottingham, North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire, England. The Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust is a registered charity that receives no government or NHS funding for its daily missions.
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT) is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas.
Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation and rescue operations.
The Wales Air Ambulance Charitable Trust, known as Wales Air Ambulance Charity (WAAC) or, is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life-saving helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured in Wales. It is an independent charity that relies on charitable donations to supply and maintain a fleet of emergency aircraft and rapid response vehicles.
Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) is a registered charity which assists the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) with emergency medical services through the provision of helicopter-based air ambulances.
The Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) is a charity air ambulance service in South West England. It operates for the relief of sickness and injury, with a specialist paramedic in critical care and a critical care doctor, providing response by helicopter or car between the hours of 7:00 am and 1:00 am, 365 days a year. The service covers Bristol, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, and surrounding areas.
Air Ambulance Northern Ireland (AANI) also known as Air Ambulance NI is a registered charity that operates a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) dedicated to responding to serious trauma and medical emergencies in Northern Ireland.