| London Air Ambulance |
Article Index for London |
Website Links For London |
Information AboutLondon Air Ambulance |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT LONDON AIR AMBULANCE | |
| air ambulance services in the united kingdom | |
| health charities in the united kingdom | |
| health in london | |
| nhs ambulance services | |
|
The London Air Ambulance, also known as the '''Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS)''', is an Air Ambulance which responds to seriously ill or injured casualties in, and around, London , England . Formed in 1989 and currently based at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel , the service is unique in the UK in that the Helicopter carries a Doctor trained in Emergency Medicine in addition to a Paramedic . Its area of responsibility is London and the surroundings that lie within the M25 Motorway , though it can fly further afield if requested to. The team can be airborne within 2 minutes of receiving a call. From its hospital base, the furthest section of the M25 and thus the usual limit of responsibility, is only 12 minute's flying time. The service operates from 7am until sunset, when the helicopter cannot fly due to safety considerations. At night the medical crew still respond to emergencies, but travel in a specially fitted and equipped response car. The aircraft is hangared at Denham during the night. The current helicopter used is a McDonnell Douglas MD 902 Explorer , Registration ''G-EHMS'', which is notable as it does not use a tail-rotor. This was felt to be a useful feature, as the helicopter has to routinely land in confined inner city areas. It replaced a SA 365N Dauphin in 2000 , that was deliberately registered ''G-HEMS''. The service costs £1.4 million a year, and £700 every mission, but is only partly funded by the NHS . The remainder is obtained through charitable donations and corporate Sponsorship , most notably by the Virgin Group and the AA . By the end of December 2004, 2576 patients had been brought back to the Royal London by air and 341 by road. 830 were flown to other hospitals, 2,508 were medically escorted to other hospitals by road, and 2,431 had been treated and transferred unaccompanied. 85 tertiary patients had been flown to the Royal London, 280 secondary air transfers had been made to other hospitals. The crew is usually 1 pilot, 1 co pilot, 1 doctor and 1 paramedic. There is sometimes an observer, who is a doctor or paramedic in training. The helicopter can carry two patients on stretchers. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINK |
|
|