By Lincolnshire Air Ambulance experiencing busiest year on record
This year is set to become the busiest year on record since the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) began in 1994 as they responded to 28 incidents over just three days.
Incidents from 17 to 19 June included a shooting, a house fire, stabbings, and medical and cardiac emergencies. A total of 19 patients were treated at the scene.
Callouts are already 11 percent higher than at the same time last year, increasing the average amount of attended occurrences to six a day from the previous four a day.
It is suggested that the increase in missions will continue over the summer months, in particular, cases of high-speed road traffic collisions, which require services of critical care, are rising.
Head of Operations at the LNAA, Chris Bailey says the increase could be due to multiple things: “I feel that it’s just down to us putting on more shifts and we’re covering up to 90 shifts every month now and that’s 12 hours each shift.
“So I think it’s just a combination of everybody coming out of COVID. And us being able to do more stuff with our doctor and paramedic critical care teams.”
Chris continues to mention that some callouts are attributed to it being the summer, and that the helicopter’s working hours, are a factor.
The operating hours of the service however are soon to be increased, from its current 7 am to 10 pm, through to the night until 2 am.
This will mean the LNAA is the only fully night capable air ambulance in the entire East Midlands region.
Mr. Bailey told Planet Radio: “That expansion of service will mean we can actually reach more patients when they really, really need us, which is in those dark times, certainly between 10 pm and 2 am where we still see and expect to see incidents rising.”
The air ambulance has flown to a total of 205, 755 missions since the service began operating in 1994, and continues to serve the counties.
Paramedic Chris Steele said: “We are working closely with the local ambulance service and other emergency services such as the Police, Fire and Rescue, HM Coastguard and Mountain Rescue and it is our advanced training and skills that collectively allow us to provide the very best enhanced pre-hospital care to the patients in the counties of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.”
(Image: Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance)
