Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Attends Milestone 70,000th Mission

Q: What does it cost to run Midlands Air Ambulance?

<p>Each year it costs between &pound;11-&pound;12 million just to keep the three charity helicopters and three critical care cars operational. Each air ambulance mission costs &pound;2,950 on average and each critical care car mission costs &pound;288, which is entirely funded by the generosity of the public and local businesses.</p>

Written by Midlands Air Ambulance - Published 04-Jul-2023, last updated 19-Mar-2024

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity has now attended more than 70,000 missions across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands, and Worcestershire, and continues to be the busiest air ambulance in England.

The lifesaving pre-hospital emergency service started out with one temporary helicopter in 1991, and now operates a fleet of three air ambulance helicopters and three critical care cars across a six-county region. The charity has now surpassed its 70,000th mission and continues to make vital lifesaving missions every day.

The charity?s 70,000th mission, was a young motorcyclist, aged just 17-years-old at the time, who had been involved in road traffic collision. The youngster is making a good recovery despite still struggling with injuries sustained in the incident.

Kerry Hemus, patient liaison lead and critical care paramedic for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, said:

Surpassing our 70,000th mission in our 32nd year of operation is a massive milestone for our team.

When our service first started it was about getting the patient to the hospital quickly, fast forward to today and we now bring the hospital to our patients in terms of the interventions we can perform, coupled with the advanced medicines and hospital-level equipment we bring. In our 70,000th mission this certainly was the case, and we are glad to see the motorcyclist recovering well.

Whilst we mark our milestone mission, I'd like to highlight our patient liaison service. Myself and my colleague, Rob Davies, are keen to speak to anyone who has received care from Midlands Air Ambulance Charity to support them with their ongoing recovery, and we also offer this service to loved ones too.

New airbase and headquarters

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity's new airbase and headquarters is located in Shropshire near the borders of Staffordshire and the West Midlands.

The new facility will enable the charity to future-proof its service to ensure it continues to meet the rising demand for its specialist skills delivering advanced patient care on scene across the six Midlands counties it covers: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands, and Worcestershire.

The new building includes offices for the charity?s support staff and also provides enhanced facilities for its pre-hospital emergency medicine doctors and critical care paramedics, including a clinical training and development simulation suite.

Get in touch

To get in touch with Midlands Air Ambulance Charity's patient liaison service you can email: patient.liaison@midlandsairambulance.com or dial: 0800 8 40 20 40.

Find out more about Midlands Air Ambulance Charity

Find out more about Midlands Air Ambulance Charity by visiting midlandsairambulance.com and following the organisation on social media.

FAQs

What does it cost to run Midlands Air Ambulance?

Each year it costs between £11-£12 million just to keep the three charity helicopters and three critical care cars operational. Each air ambulance mission costs £2,950 on average and each critical care car mission costs £288, which is entirely funded by the generosity of the public and local businesses.