Crews from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance experienced a 31% year-on-year increase for the first half of the year.
Statistics reveal that our doctors, dispatchers, pilots and paramedics responded to 1,183 emergency call-outs from across the region, with the bulk of the missions coming from Southampton, Portsmouth, Basingstoke, Gosport, Fareham and Newport.
We surpassed 1,000 call-outs in June, with May (222) the busiest month so far – our busiest month since July 2019. The most frequent calls for help were for cardiac arrests, accidental injuries and road traffic collisions.
On average, each mission costs £3,500.
Thanks to your dedication and support, we are able to get to more patients, more regularly.
Reasons for the rise
In September 2022, we added a Critical Care Paramedic car response to run in conjunction with the team on the helicopter – this team provide enhanced treatment in support to our ambulance service clinicians. This includes administering stronger pain relief, sedation and other medicines and providing specialist assessment and interventions to give each patient the very best chance of survival and recovery.
In the last 18 months we have recruited experienced doctors and specialist paramedics to the team, to give us even more resilience and consistent coverage across the region.
Our Clinical Lead Dr Simon Hughes said:
“Every day we give our patients, their friends and families the best chance of not only survival, but a successful recovery. Nobody knows if or when they’re going to need us, but a cardiac arrest, medical incident or road traffic collision can happen to anyone, anywhere at anytime.
“We are 100% funded by the generosity of the public that we serve. And we are all incredibly humbled and grateful to everyone who continues to keep us responding to the people who need us most.”
2024 mission breakdown
January – 172
February – 185
March – 191
April – 195
May – 222 (busiest month since July 2019)
June – 218
Total – 1,183
