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We drive to your side
As well as our yellow and green helicopter flying overhead, you may see us driving to emergencies in one of our emergency response vehicles.
Like on our helicopters, our emergency response vehicles have highly trained medics onboard who effectively bring the hospital to the patient – be it bedside, roadside, beachside or countryside.
Since we first started responding by car (as well as helicopter) in 2017, our service has expanded. We now operate with cars, two Volvo XC90s and two Skoda Superbs.
Why use a car and not the helicopter?
Our vehicles allow us to respond to emergencies if the aircraft is unable to fly due to adverse weather or during helicopter maintenance.
Around 50% of the missions we respond to are by road.
In September 2022 we added an additional Critical Care Paramedic car shift, ensuring we can respond to even more patients who need our help.
You may see these paramedics driving to missions that either don’t require our helicopter-based doctor and paramedic team or as extra support at complex or multi-casualty incidents.
Additionally, these vehicles provide a vital training platform for doctors and paramedics to help grow sustainable numbers of these highly specialised professionals.
What are the other benefits of responding by road?
- We’re resilient:
If the poor weather stops us flying, we’ll drive to your side. Whatever the weather, we’re there for you.
- We’re fully equipped:
Each car has been specially converted and given a blue light fit-out to get the very best equipment and crew to our patient’s side as quickly as possible. They carry the same level of specialist equipment and medicine as the helicopter, such as blood products, defibrillators and monitors that can record ECG’s, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and carbon dioxide levels, giving our patients the best chance of survival and recovery.
- We’re adaptable:
We can drive to inner-city areas that are difficult to land a helicopter in, especially at night when landing areas need to be larger than during the day.
Our road vehicles are vital cogs in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance wheel. They ensure that we can maximise our response and continue to grow as a service.
Richard Corbett, CEO.
Take The Vehicle Video Tour
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Missions flown this year
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Total missions flown
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Missions by road this year
Our fleet includes one helicopter and four cars.
We're resilient: If the poor weather stops us flying, we'll drive to your side.
We're fully equipped: Our vehicles carry the same level of specialist equipment and medicine as the helicopter.
We're adaptable: We can drive to inner-city areas that are difficult to land a helicopter in
Training asset: Our newest members of the team are able to train with us in our emergency response cars
Both doctors and our specialist critical care paramedics respond in our vehicles
We can bring the emergency department to the patient
Our critical care paramedics are able to respond day and night by car
