Air ambulances in the United Kingdom

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 ambulances in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are operated by charities, while Scotland has one charity service in addition to its four NHS-funded aircraft.

Air Ambulances in the United Kingdom

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.

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.[1] The ambulance staff crewing these flights are generally seconded from the local NHS ambulance service. In Scotland, there is the only publicly funded air ambulance service, with the Scottish Ambulance Service operating two Eurocopter H145 helicopters and two fixed wing aircraft in this role, alongside two charity Eurocopter H135 helicopters, operated by Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance.

Organisation		Radio call-sign	Aircraft	Registration	Photograph
Cornwall Air Ambulance		Helimed 01	AW169[2]	G-CRWL[3]
The Air Ambulance Service	Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance	Helimed 54	AW109SP	G-TAAS
	Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance	Helimed 53	AW109SP	G-HEMZ
	Children's Air Ambulance (emergency patient transfers only)	Helimed 80	2 x AW169	G-PICU
		Helimed 81		G-TCAA
Devon Air Ambulance		Helimed 70	2 × EC135	G-DAAN
		Helimed 71		G-DVAA
		Preparing for operation	H145	G-DAAS
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance		Helimed 10	AW169	G-DSAA
East Anglian Air Ambulance		Helimed 85	2 x H145	G-RESU
		Helimed 88		G-HEMC
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance		Helimed 07	MD 902	G-EHEM
		Helimed 55	AW169	G-HHEM
Great North Air Ambulance		Helimed 58	3 × AS365 N2	G-NHAA
		Helimed 63		G-NHAB
		Dedicated spare		G-NHAC
		Preparing for operation	AS365 N3	G-NHAD
Great Western Air Ambulance		Helimed 65	EC135	G-GWAC
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance		Helimed 56	H135	G-HIOW
Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex		Helimed 60	2 x AW169	G-KSST
		Helimed 21		G-KSSC
		Dedicated spare	MD 902	G-KSSA
Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance		Helimed 29	AW169	G-LNAC
London's Air Ambulance		Helimed 27 Helimed 28 spare unit for major incidents	2 x MD 902 (One spare)	G-EHMS
				G-LNDN
Magpas Air Ambulance		Helimed 66	AW169	G-MGPS
Midlands Air Ambulance		Helimed 03	H145	G-RMAA
		Helimed 06	2 x EC135	G-OMAA
		Helimed 09		G-HWAA
North West Air Ambulance		Helimed 08	3 x EC135	G-NWAA
		Helimed 72		G-NWAE
		Helimed 75		G-NWEM
Northern Ireland Air Ambulance		Helimed 23	2 x H135[4]	G-NIHM
				G-NHEM
Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance		Helimed 76	2 x EC135	G-SCAA
		Helimed 79		G-EMAA
Scottish Air Ambulance		Helimed 02	2 x EC145	G-ISAS
		Helimed 05		G-GSAS
		Gama xxx	2 x King Air 200C	G-SASC
				G-SASD
Thames Valley Air Ambulance		Helimed 24	EC135	G-TVAL
Wales Air Ambulance and Children's Air Ambulance Wales		Helimed 57	3 x H145	G-WENU
		Helimed 59		G-WOBR
		Helimed 61		G-WROL
		Helimed 67 (Children's)	1 x EC135	G-WASC
Wiltshire Air Ambulance		Helimed 22	Bell 429	G-WLTS
Yorkshire Air Ambulance		Helimed 98	2 x H145	G-YOAA
		Helimed 99		G-YAAC

Patient transport operations

Privately operated fixed wing air ambulance from the UK

There are also a number of 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. There is a helicopter based patient transfer service, focused on paediatric cases, called the Children's Air Ambulance, which first flew in 2012.[5]

The Scottish Ambulance Service operates two fixed wing aircraft in this role, with patients flown to the mainland UK for treatment.[6] 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.

Notable accidents involving air ambulances

• On 19 May 1996, a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander aircraft operated by Loganair for the Scottish Ambulance Service crashed short of the runway at Lerwick/Tingwall Airport in Shetland while turning to final approach at night during strong and gusting winds. The pilot was killed, and the physician and flight nurse were injured. There was no patient on board at the time.[7]
• On 26 July 1998, the three man crew of the Kent Air Ambulance died when the aircraft collided with power lines and crashed in a field in Burham, near Rochester Airport.[8][9] Initial investigation established no definitive cause for the crash, due to the fireball produced on impact. Controversy ensued when the pilot's employers, Police Aviation Services, denied liability. On 19 February 2004, following a civil case brought by the pilot's widow to the High Court in Manchester, it ruled that the crash was caused by mechanical failure, not as suggested flying low for fun, and ordered compensation to be paid.[10]
• On 14 June 2000, four passengers and one pilot were killed when a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, chartered for a medical transfer from the Isle of Man, crashed on approach to Liverpool Airport.[11]
• On 15 March 2005, a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander aircraft operated by Loganair crashed into the sea while descending toward Campbeltown Airport in western Scotland. The aircraft was operating an air ambulance flight on behalf of the Scottish Ambulance Service. The pilot and paramedic both died in the crash.[12]

See also

• Police aviation in the United Kingdom
• Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom

References

1. "Amazing Facts about your Air Ambulance". Association of Air Ambulances. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
2. Caygill, Greg. "Cornwall Air Ambulance expects new AW169 will save time & lives". Vertical Magazine. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
3. "Cornwall Air Ambulance gives first glimpse of highly anticipated helicopter". Cornwall Air Ambulance. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
4. https://airambulanceni.org/about/
5. "The Children's Air Ambulance". Express and Echo. 18 December 2012. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
6. "New air ambulance for NI after flight ordeal". BBC News.
7. 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.
8. Helicopter crash kills three BBC News, 27 July 1998
9. "AAIB Bulletin No: 2/2000" (PDF). Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
10. "Air ambulance crash pilot cleared". BBC News. 19 February 2004.
11. "Piper PA-31-350, G-BMBC" (PDF). AAIB. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
12. "Air crew search called off". BBC News. 15 March 2005.

External links

• Association of Air Ambulances