London's Air Ambulance Charity

London's Air Ambulance Charity
Founded1989
TypeCharitable organisation
Location
Coordinates51°31′05″N 0°03′30″W / 51.5180°N 0.0583°W / 51.5180; -0.0583
Area served
London
Medical director
Dr Tom Hurst
CEO
Jonathan Jenkins
Patron
William, Prince of Wales[2]
Revenue (2023)
£16.1 million[3]
Staff80[3] (in 2023)
Volunteers (2023)
115[3]
Websitewww.londonsairambulance.org.uk Edit this at Wikidata

London's Air Ambulance Charity is a registered charity that operates a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) dedicated to responding to serious trauma emergencies in and around London.[4] Using a helicopter from 08:00 to sunset and rapid response vehicles by night, the service performs advanced medical interventions at the scene of the incident in life-threatening, time-critical situations.

The charity was founded in 1989 by General Surgeon Dr. Richard Earlam in response to a report by the Royal College of Surgeons, which documented cases of patients dying unnecessarily because of the delay in receiving prompt and appropriate medical care. The charity was the first in the UK to carry a senior doctor in addition to a paramedic at all times on a helicopter, introducing a system that reduces the death rate in severe trauma by 30–40%.[5]

The helicopters are hangared at RAF Northolt,[6] but operate during the day from their base at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, East London. A helicopter can reach any patient inside the M25 London orbital motorway, which acts as the service's catchment area, within 15 minutes. Missions commonly involve serious road traffic collisions, falls from height, stabbings and shootings, industrial accidents and incidents on the rail network. The team can perform advanced life-saving medical interventions, including open heart surgery, blood transfusion and anaesthesia, at the scene. The charity operates 24 hours a day, serving the 10 million people who live, work and travel within the M25. The service treats an average of five patients every day.

  1. ^ "Move to RAF Northolt". www.londonsairambulance.org.uk. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference newh135 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference ccoverview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) - Barts and the London NHS Trust". Bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  5. ^ Botker et al. "A systematic review of controlled studies: Do physicians increase survival with pre-hospital treatment?" Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine 2009, 17:12.
  6. ^ "Move to RAF Northolt". London’s Air Ambulance. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2020.