On Friday, 19 June, Magpas Air Ambulance—alongside East Anglian Air Ambulance and Essex & Herts Air Ambulance—was dispatched by the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) to a train collision in Bedfordshire.
Working alongside colleagues from London’s Air Ambulance, Midlands Air Ambulance, The Air Ambulance Service and other emergency service partners, our teams provided advanced critical care to those who were seriously injured.
Three Magpas Air Ambulance critical care teams attended the scene. After the initial call came through to EEAST at 17:15, our helicopter was immediately dispatched with our first crew at 17:19, placing the team among the first medical resources on scene and the first air ambulance service to arrive on site.
Due to our close proximity to the scene from our airbase in Alconbury Weald, we also dispatched two additional crews in rapid response vehicles to further support patient assessment, treatment and critical care interventions. A total of nine Magpas Air Ambulance clinicians attended the scene in total, triaging and treating 30 of the most seriously injured patients in their time of need.
Daryl Brown MBE, Chief Executive Officer of Magpas Air Ambulance, commented, "I am incredibly proud of our critical care teams and aircrew, who responded with professionalism, skill and compassion in the most challenging of circumstances. Their commitment to delivering lifesaving care when patients need it most is extraordinary, and I would like to personally thank them for everything they did last night.”
Our thoughts and deepest condolences remain with everyone affected by this tragic incident.
Incidents such as this demonstrate the importance of specialist critical care teams being able to respond rapidly when patients need them most. As air ambulance charities, we can only be there thanks to the generosity of our supporters.
On behalf of the patients who rely on our care in their most critical moments, thank you.
