Andrew shares this latest news on behalf of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Ed
On Monday 1st July 2019, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) will celebrate their 12th year since the life-saving Charity first began helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) operations on 1st July 2007.
During this time, the Air Ambulance has been tasked to over 8,600 incidents across the region, and the Charity’s Critical Care Team Vehicles (CCTV) have responded to over 1,800 call outs.
Missions doubled
Since the introduction of the Charity’s first CCTV in 2017, mission numbers have doubled, with May 2019 being the busiest month on record for the life-saving service.
In order to keep up with increasing patient demand across the Hampshire and Isle of Wight region, in the past six months the Charity has added two new Critical Care Team Vehicles to its fleet.
New trainee paramedics
In addition, HIOWAA finished off 2018 by recruiting seven new trainee HEMS paramedics to the Charity’s Critical Care Teams, comprised of specialist critical care paramedics, pre-hospital emergency medicine doctors and pilots.
Selected from a total of 89 applicants, the seven trainee paramedics underwent a rigorous selection process by completing various fitness tests and taking part in emergency scenarios to test their medical skills.
Lochrane: A challenging and exciting year
HIOWAA Chief Executive, Alex Lochrane, said:
“2019 has been both a challenging and exciting year for HIOWAA as we continue to evolve our service in order to meet the needs of our community.
“We are now in a better position than ever before to provide cutting edge critical care to those who need us in their darkest hour. None of this could have happened without the dedication and generosity of our local community and we owe every one of our supporters a heartfelt thank you.”
You can support the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance by making a one-off or regular donations. See their Website for more information.
