Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance have welcomed a new state-of-the-art AgustaWestland 169 (AW169) helicopter at their base in RAF Waddington. The new aircraft became operational on Wednesday 15th June and will support EMAS with around three life-saving missions every day.
The AW169 has significant benefits and will enhance patient care. It is bigger, giving paramedics and doctors 360-degree access to patients in flight; it is faster meaning it can get to patients quicker; and it has greater endurance meaning it can fly further without the need to refuel.
CEO of Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance, Karen Jobling said: “Excellent patient care is at the heart of everything we do. The combination of speed, endurance, and technology of the AW169 will be of huge benefit to our patients, giving them the very best chances of survival possible in their greatest hour of need. The aircraft also has the most advanced navigation capabilities on offer in the industry and is extremely future-proof.
“We are proud to say that our Charity saves lives every day, and with this new aircraft we can continue doing so for many years to come. This is only possible thanks to the generous support from the people, organisations and businesses in the communities within which we serve. A heart-felt thank you goes out to each and every one of them. I’m sure our supporters will be pleased to see that our new Ambucopter is the same yellow colour that we have all grown so fond of and that it will be spotted very soon flying through our skies, on route to another life-saving mission.”
Dr Bob Winter, Medical Director at EMAS and regular doctor on board the Ambucopter said: “This new helicopter is great and will help patients across the East Midlands. We tend to use the air ambulance for patients who have experienced a traumatic injury so the additional 360 access to a patient will be great for when the on board crew treat a patient mid-flight.”
EMAS support the charity by supplying paramedics to respond on the helicopter but they do rely on donations to continue saving lives.
The charity have been operational for over 23 years supporting seriously ill adults and children across Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Each life-saving mission undertaken with the new aircraft will cost an average of £2,500 so please consider donating to keep the Ambucopter flying.