In its first week of operation, a brand-new air ambulance that cost £9 million was dispatched to ten incidents in the West Midlands.
On January 1, the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s brand-new H145 helicopter, registered G-HMAA, went into service. The crew assisted several patients experiencing cardiac arrest and one patient who had a severe fall.
The team, which included two critical care paramedics and an experienced pilot, was called in to assist patients around the West Midlands, Staffordshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire during the first week of operation.
The charity’s last rented aircraft from Babcock International Group has been replaced by the new, roomy five-blade air ambulance, which is its third fully-owned helicopter.
The advanced clinical crew will be sent to patients who require increased care on-site every day before being transported to the hospital. It is headquartered at the charity’s Tatenhill airbase in Staffordshire, close to Burton-on-Trent.
“It was an honour to be on shift on our new helicopter’s first day of operation and we are already seeing the benefit of the new aircraft,” said Allister McNeil, a critical care paramedic with the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity who was on duty when the new helicopter went into service.
“Our ability to provide the best care for patients during their subsequent transfer to the hospital will be aided by the aircraft’s larger interior and even smoother flight due to its five blades.”
Careful financial preparation, the backing of local businesses and communities, and two kind grant-giving organizations—the Kildare Trust and the Denise Coates Foundation—have all contributed to the new H145’s funding.
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