Celebrating 10, 15, and 20 years of saving lives

The Air Ambulance Service (TAAS) is at a very exciting chapter in its history as it celebrates 10, 15, 20 years of dedication across its lifesaving services with the charity’s full fleet coming together.

Your local air ambulance sees the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) celebrating 20 years of lifesaving service and Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA) celebrating 15 years.

The lifesaving service has touched tens of thousands of lives, with both WNAA and DLRAA providing pre-hospital emergency critical care – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – utilising both helicopters and Critical Care Cars while working alongside East Midlands and West Midlands Ambulance Services.

Based at Coventry Airport and its East Midlands airbase currently at Nottingham Heliport respectively, WNAA and DLRAA carry dedicated critical care paramedics and doctors who can perform advanced medical interventions and surgical procedures – usually performed in a hospital environment – from thoracotomies and caesareans to amputations, when the need is there. The charity’s frontline crews, who work tirelessly around the clock to help save lives, are proud to have been able to help so many over the years in their moment of need.

2023 also marks the 10-year anniversary of the Children’s Air Ambulance (TCAA), a national charity, changing the face of paediatric and neonatal care through the high-speed transfer of critically ill babies and children on board bespoke clinically designed helicopters providing flying intensive care units.

TCAA has developed over the years into the pioneering transfer service it is today. On 12 May 2013, the charity safely delivered its first patient transfer, and has now completed over 800 missions alongside its 11 NHS Clinical Partner Teams. The clinically designed helicopters and equipment continue to change the face of paediatric and neonatal care, with the functionality of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and nitric oxide onboard, as well as the launch of three bespoke incubators this year.

Anyone wishing to find out more about the vital service, or to support the charity can visit: www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk or call 0300 3045 999.