"Immensely proud" - Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance completes major milestone of 15,000 flights helping to save lives across the county
For the past 19 years one life-saving charity has been there for people in need of emergency critical care in Hampshire.
On Wednesday, April 1, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance were once again on hand to help when a patient required medical attention following an incident in Hook. The crew of experts flew out to the scene and provided treatment to the patient before transferring them to hospital via a road ambulance.
Another call out for the crew but it was a landmark one for the charity, which is entirely funded by donations from the public, as it was flight number 15,000. Since it started on July 1, 2007 it has responded to more than 23,000 emergency missions with 15,000 of them by air and 8,434 by road.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance CEO Richard Corbett said: “I am immensely proud of the efforts from everyone who has made this achievement possible. For many of those patients, it will be the worst day of their lives.
“But thanks to the extraordinary dedication from hundreds of expert crew members, charity staff and volunteers over the years, coupled with the generosity of our wonderful supporters, our team can try and make that day slightly better and give those patients the best possible chance of survival and recovery.”
The air ambulance doctors and paramedics respond to various emergencies, including cardiac arrests, falls from height and assaults, and are specially trained to carry procedures at the side of the road that are usually only performed in hospital settings. These include a thoracotomy, a surgical incision to the chest wall used to treat life-threatening conditions – or a limb amputation.
One of the 15,000 flights completed was to Ally Lambell who was found unconscious by her husband at their Gosport home in April 2024. She said that without the air ambulances intervention, she would not be here today.
The crew placed her into an induced coma to manage her airway and protect her vital organs from further damage, before transporting her to hospital by road.
Ally said: “We’ve proudly donated regularly to the Air Ambulance ever since we moved down from Sheffield. We love watching all the TV shows about them. It’s so inspiring. But I never thought for one moment that I’d be the one who would need rescuing.
“Without them, I wouldn’t be here today. Thank you to everyone who supports Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.”
More information on the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance can be found at www.hiowaa.org.