Following the publication yesterday (4 February) of a study examining access to physician-led Helicopter Emergency Medical Services across the UK, Dr Simon Lewis, Executive Medical Director at Magpas Air Ambulance, said:
“Magpas Air Ambulance became the first air ambulance charity in the East of England to provide pre-hospital emergency medicine 24/7 back in 2015 and has continued to do so ever since; with last year becoming our busiest year on record."
Simon continues, "Founded by doctors in Cambridgeshire in the 1970's, Magpas Air Ambulance's unique history means we have always been a physician-led service and today, a senior doctor and critical care paramedic work together on every shift to provide lifesaving care. This origin has also contributed to our patient-first philosophy, ensuring all decisions and innovations are made with the aim of maintaining and developing outstanding patient care, which has helped us save and change over 70,000 lives in the past 50+ years.
“As a charity, we rely on donations to continue to provide our lifesaving service. Thank you to all our supporters for helping us be there for anyone who needs our expert care 24/7 across the region."
Daryl Brown MBE DL, Magpas Air Ambulance's CEO, adds:
"Our clinical focus enables us to provide expert training for our own clinicians and partner organisations using our specialist facilities, invest in additional lifesaving equipment, and routinely carry blood on board our aircraft. These hospital-level interventions for the most seriously injured patients have been shown in this study, and others, to save lives in cases of major trauma.
"While the study highlights that some air ambulance charities in England receive partial government funding, Magpas Air Ambulance relies entirely on public donations, we would like to see this disparity addressed by government to ensure fair and equitable base funding of these lifesaving services.
"While the study highlights that some air ambulance charities in England receive partial government funding, Magpas Air Ambulance relies on public donations. Addressing this disparity could help support the equitable development of service provision across all regions as services grow. Being charity-funded does present fundraising challenges, but it also gives us the flexibility to innovate, participate in clinical trials, and invest in cutting-edge treatments—ensuring we continue to deliver the very best pre-hospital emergency care to patients across the East of England, 24 hours a day. We are so thankful to our supporters for continuing to donate and keep our service saving lives in your community for more than 50 years.”
You can read the study in full here.
