Why is the Air Ambulance important?

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is responsible for funding and operating three air ambulances serving the communities of six Midlands counties.

Operating from three strategically located regional airbases, the maximum flying time to an incident is 15 minutes. On board the helicopters, the paramedics and doctor bring hospital-level advanced clinical care to the patient, meaning they receive the very best treatment in critical time. This gives the patient the greatest chances of survival and recovery. This is why the Midlands Air Ambulance is so vital in an emergency.

In addition to the aircraft, three charity’s rapid response vehicles are deployed when the helicopters are unable to fly, due to bad weather for example. The critical care cars, based in Birmingham and the Black Country and Worcester, attend medical emergencies such as heart attacks and cardiac arrests.

Each of the 2,000 air ambulance missions attended each year costs £2,500, for which the charity does not receive any funding from the Government or National Lottery. This emergency service relies solely on support from the public and local businesses to raise the £9 million needed each year to remain operational.