Running the instantly recognisable helicopter during daylight and rapid response cars at night, London's Air Ambulance service has been speeding advanced trauma teams around the city to care for the critically injured at incident scenes for 25 years today.
In 2013, the service attended 1,819 "Patient Missions" – helping victims of road traffic accidents, falls from height, stabbings, shootings, industrial accidents and the like – arriving within minutes of the emergency call and providing life-saving pre-hospital medical care on the spot, including open heart surgery, blood transfusions and anaesthesia.
In their anniversary year, London's Air Ambulance is fundraising for a second helicopter, additional pilots and crew to enable them to help a further 400 people a year by air. The charity relies heavily on donations from Londoners and London businesses. Want to wish them happy birthday? Please donate £5 online or set up a monthly direct debit to give ongoing support to the service.
Find out more:
- Read an interview with an Air Ambulance pilot
- See pictures of the Air Ambulance helipad atop the Royal London Hospital
- Listen to N Quentin Woolf spending a day with London's Air Ambulance staff & crew
- See 25 years in 25 pictures
Visit www.londonsairambulance.co.uk/donate to support the charity.
