UK Air Ambulance News

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

London’s Air Ambulance celebrates 25th anniversary

The service treats over 30,00 critically ill patients within the M25 - but it could tend to an extra 400 per year with a second aircraft.

It was established in 1989 after it was claimed victims of major trauma were dying unnecessarily, and January marks its milestone anniversary.



Last year, it treated 1,819 patients across London - over a third were related to road traffic collisions, a quarter were falls from height and 23 per cent were stabbings.

The helicopter is used during daylight hours and rapid response cars are used at night.
The service has the world's highest survival rate for performing open chest surgery at the roadside, and a senior doctor is on board the aircraft as well as paramedics at all times.

Gareth Davies, Medical Director and Chair of the Trustees, who has led the service for 20 of its 25 years, said: “There are people who have survived serious injury in London that would not have in other countries.

“It is down to the belief and passion from everyone who comes into contact with the service - employees, volunteers and supporters - that enables us to help save lives and London should be very proud of this

.”http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/n...ates_25_years/

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Air ambulance becomes first in UK to carry blood analyser

THE air ambulance for Oxfordshire has become the first in the country to carry a machine which analyses blood.
Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance is carrying a £10,000 I-Stat portable blood analyser this month.

It is the latest step by the service, which relies solely on fundraising, to provide more healthcare on board its EC135 helicopter.


From left, paramedic Clive Stevens, Dr Syed Masud and paramedic Richard Company

The helicopter, based at RAF Benson, already has an ultrasound machine and blood stocks.

It says the first 60 minutes of an emergency – the “golden hour” – is vital and such equipment can save lives.

Dr Syed Masud, a helicopter emergency medical service consultant (HEMS), praised the development.

He said: “Our mantra is ‘bringing the hospital to the roadside’ for the patient.

“We have achieved this by introducing ultrasound and blood on the aircraft ensuring that the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance is one of the leading HEMS units in the country.

“This small portable machine gives us hospital accuracy blood results within minutes.

“The result of this will help us make clinical decisions for the patients.”

Changes of oxygen and salt levels are among key readings provided by the machine.

The service was launched in 1999 and has flown 14,936 missions in its ‘patch’ – Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Flights have two paramedics while doctor support is also available and the helicopter is often in demand to fly to places that are hard to reach for ground-based crews.

Air ambulance chief executive Mark McGeown said: “We have seen an increased demand over the past year.

“This is testament to the quality of emergency care that our medical crew can provide.

“The use of specialist equipment is an important element of this.”

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10963067.Air_ambulance_becomes_first_in_UK_to_carr y_blood_analyser/?ref=var_6

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Helicopter crash victim parents donate to Air Ambulance charity

The parents of a girl who died in a helicopter crash aged 16 have donated £3,000 to the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Christine and Christopher Shaw, of Teversham, set up a charitable fund in the name of their daughter Nicola after the helicopter she was a passenger in crashed at Six Mile Bottom on August 1, 1998.



Money was first donated to the Millennium Maths Project at Cambridge University, which Nicola was to work on, with a lecture series named after her.

Now the couple have closed the account and are donating the final sum to EAAA, with some also going to emergency medical charity, Magpas.

Christine said: “Just over a year ago a friend of ours was involved in a very bad car accident at Madingley Hill, and somehow he survived but if your services had not been available I doubt he would have made it.

“I know my daughter would agree.”

A spokeswoman for EAAA said: “This donation means such a lot to us and we thank Christine and Christopher for thinking of us when choosing who to donate to in their daughter’s memory.

“The money will be used by the charity to help someone who needs the expert care of our highly skilled clinicians at the scene of a medical emergency.”

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News...0125062929.htm

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Charity air ambulance hailed as helicopter flies 200th mission

Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) has flown its 200th mission, operators said.

The helicopter, with the call-sign Helimed 76, is based at Perth Airport and reached the operational landmark just eight months after it was launched in May 2013.

Unlike the two Government-funded helicopters operating in Scotland, the SCAA helicopter relies on donations from the public, trusts and private and corporate donors.


Scotland's Helimed 76

It flew its 200th mission on Sunday when called out to a riding accident in the Clyde Valley. In total, the ambulance has flown more than 17,800 miles over 150 hours.

SCAA chief executive Gavin Davey said: "It's only one more helicopter but the difference it has made right across Scotland has been huge.

"The number of people who have come back and said their lives have been saved or their quality of life has been improved by the service we bring is amazing. So we're very, very pleased."

The charity air ambulance is now established as a key element of Scotland's nationwide emergency response network. More than half of its workload has involved serious trauma cases.

Lead paramedic John Pritchard said: "We're totally pleased and proud that we have attained the 200th mission, especially since we haven't even been running a year.

"We have made sure we've done a lot of cross training with the other emergency services and we're getting to know everybody. When we land it's great, the welcome we get is really good and we would like to keep that going in that way."

The SCAA costs £1,500,000 a year to run, and Mr Davey said the Scottish public have responded "tremendously" in raising funds to keep the service in operation.

He added: "Initially, it was largely around this area but now it's spread out to the whole of Scotland so when people see us in the press or on TV or see us picking someone up, they respond very well and hope that continues."

For more information on the service, or to make a donation, visit the charity's webpage.

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/261899-scaa-charity-air-ambulance-hailed-as-helicopter-flies-200th-mission/

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Wiltshire Air Ambulance signs-up 100 Friends

A NEW initiative to secure long-term funding for Wiltshire Air Ambulance has got off to a flying start with more than 100 ‘Friends’ signing up to support the charity well into the future.



The Friends of Wiltshire Air Ambulance was launched last August. From just £2 per month, people can make a regular gift to the life-saving charity which is then used to help purchase equipment or kit for the helicopter, provide additional training for the air ambulance paramedics or fund essential items such as aviation fuel.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance recently signed a 10-year contract with Helicharter to supply a new state of the art Bell 429 helicopter which will come into service at the end of 2014, when the lease on the current 12-year-old aircraft expires and the current partnership with Wiltshire Police ends.

The new helicopter will cost the charity £2.5m a year.

One of the air ambulance’s first Friends was the High Sheriff of Wiltshire, William Wyldbore-Smith of Bremhill near Calne.
He said: “I am pleased that the charity has passed the 100 Friends mark, but it needs many more as that is the best way of securing core revenue.”

For a Friends application form call 01380 739453 or visitwww.wiltshireairambulance.co.uk.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/n..._off_past_100/

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Hunt is on for new Wiltshire Air Ambulance base

THE Trustees of Wiltshire Air Ambulance have launched a full scale search for a new base location for the county’s aeromedical helicopter.


Cornwall Air Ambulance Airbase, built in 2012

The long standing partnership with Wiltshire Police finishes at the end of the year because the constabulary will be joining the National Police Air Service, based at Filton near Bristol.

Charity Chief Executive David Philpott says: “For more than twenty years we have enjoyed sharing the hangar behind Police HQ in Devizes with our law enforcement colleagues, but things move on and times change.

"We are still in discussions with the Police and Crime Commissioner to see if we can get an extension on our tenure, but issues of health, safety and possible security risks means that this is looking increasingly unlikely.

"It is against that background that the charity board has asked me to identify a suitable location to build an airbase, somewhere in Central Wiltshire”.

The charity have set up a Project Team and this group has already identified up to a dozen commercial, military or private airfields or landing strips within 7 nautical miles of Devizes, but they are keen to stress that they are not limiting the search to aviation-type properties.

“Other Air Ambulance charities have located their bases on industrial estates or farmland, so subject to the appropriate planning permissions, we are ruling nothing out at this stage” continued Mr. Philpott. “Our vision is to have all of our operational and fundraising functions under one roof, with training and visitor facilities so that we can welcome ever increasing numbers of school and community groups that we count among our supporters”.

Anyone with property or land that they think might be suitable can contact the charity directly by emailing info@wiltshireairambulance.co.uk

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/11001543.Hunt_is_on_for_new_Wiltshire_Air_Ambulanc e_base/

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

New helicopter on its way for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance

THE HAMPSHIRE and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance has announced that a new and improved helicopter will soon be saving lives in the region.



From June, the charity will use the more up-to-date model of the Eurocopter 135 that boasts the latest in technological advances.

Tony Nicholson, chairman of the charity, said: “We are very happy to have been able to arrange this with our partner, Bond Air Services. Everything that helps our crews to deliver this vital service has to be good news for all those who depend on us.”

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/1104...on_its_way/

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

INTERIM LIVERY FOR ISLAND’S AIR AMBULANCE

Further to the announcement earlier this week that Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance will be operating an enhanced model of the familiar Eurocopter 135 with effect from June 2014, the charity has announced that branding and conversion work has already begun on the new helicopter.



In the interim, as part of Bond Air Service’s re-positioning of aircraft within their fleet, from Thursday 27th February, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance will be operating another Eurocopter 135.

The helicopter will carry the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance branding. However, the eagle eyed may spot that it looks slightly different from the usual helicopter that has become such a familiar sight across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and that will return to service in June 2014.

http://www.islandecho.co.uk/news/new...air-ambulance/

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

London Air Ambulance Conducts Uplift from Kingston

The London Air Ambulance performed a confined are landing earlier today when uplifting a patient from Cambridge Gardens in Kingston.

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Prince William Inspects Scottish Air Ambulance

Prince William was shown around the helicopter when he and the Duchess of Cambridge went to Strathearn Community Campus in Crieff, Perthshire, in their first visit to the region whose name gave them their Scottish titles. They were created Earl and Countess of Strathearn on their wedding day in April 2011.

It was Kate's first official engagement since the couple returned from their tour of New Zealand and Australia at the end of April but all eyes were on William initially as he went to meet crew and officials from Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance.

William, 31, had asked, through his office, to meet the crew, staff and charity trustees. "He was really really keen," said John Pritchard, lead paramedic on the helicopter. "He was really keen to see how we work."


The Duke of Cambridge asked to see inside an air ambulance while in Scotland today

Earlier this week, it emerged that the second in line the throne, who left his job as an RAF search and rescue pilot in September, is considering returning to flying as a career from this September, possibly as a helicopter pilot for the air ambulance service in East Anglia.

Aides conspicuously refused to rule it out even though they had insisted in April that it was not under consideration, at the same time as William was telling people he wanted to do something involving flying again and was going for his commercial pilot's licence.

"Are you guys volunteers then? How long have you been doing it?" William asked when he met the crew of the twin-engine Bollow 105 helicopter, which supplements the work of two Government-funded air ambulances in Scotland.

Alan Bell, one of the founder trustees of the service, which has been operating for just over a year and been called out to about 300 emergencies, said: "He was very very interested. He knew quite a lot about the air ambulance network in England and Wales."


There have been rumours that Prince William is considering returning to flying as a career and that air ambulance work may be his preferred choice

But the future King said nothing about his own future career plans. "He never said anything about it but I would certainly welcome him on to the team," said Mr Pritchard, 46, one of two paramedics who work on board with a pilot, who must have a commercial licence.

William, who asked detailed questions about the aircraft and the work of the team, recalled his own flying experiences and learned how the crew give a teddy bear to any child they treat. He was given one of the teddy bears for Prince George.

In a playing field beside Strathearn Community Campus, which incorporates Crieff High School, he and Kate met groups of young people including Scouts, Cadets, and Brownies.

Kate, 32, was wearing a coral and red two tone coat by Scottish designer Jonathan Saunders, a dress by Goat, and a celtic design brooch that was a wedding gift.


The Duke and The Duchess of Cambridge in Crieff today

The couple, who had flown up to Scotland last night and stayed at the nearby Gleneagles Hotel beside the golf course where this year's Ryder Cup will be played, appeared in good form.

Kate, who works as a volunteer with the Scouts, was showered with gifts including a tartan neckerchief and tried a small piece of Scottish pancake made by the Muthill Scouts. "Lovely," she said.

She told one group of girls: "I was a Brownie but I never made it to the Guides."

She also praised young volunteers for combining their work with exams. "I don't know how you manage to do it," she told Guides young leader Rachel Hutchison, 16. "Well done you. Nice to meet you."

http://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/...land-with-Kate

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance Trust Select AW169

AgustaWestland is pleased to announce that the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance Trust (KSSAAT) has selected the new generation AW169 twin-engine light intermediate helicopter to perform emergency medical service missions. The aircraft will be operated by Specialist Aviation Services (SAS) for the KSSAAT.

KSSAAT, a prime HEMS provider and the first, and presently only, air ambulance in the UK to fly 24/7 throughout the year, will be the first HEMS customer to introduce the AW169 into service in the UK in autumn 2015. The AW169 was selected following an extensive evaluation process of several competing types by the Charity. The AW169 was selected for its class leading characteristics, superior mission capabilities and safety features, which will deliver increased mission effectiveness in its daily life-saving duties. This contract will continue the success already achieved by the AW169 in the UK helicopter market which includes Specialist Aviation Services’ order for six aircraft in 2012.



Henk Schaeken, Managing Director, Specialist Aviation Services (SAS) said “We selected the AW169 two years ago at the previous Farnborough International Air Show, as it offered the best capabilities and performance in its class and we felt that it could greatly enhance the operations of our customers. We underlined this belief by taking orders and options on six aircraft.

He added “The decision by Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance Trust supports our early commitment to the AW169, and strengthens the long-standing and excellent relationship between our organisations. We are engaging with KSSAAT in defining the final aircraft configuration and medical fit, which will be designed to meet their requirements and expand the medical capabilities they bring to the incident scene.”

Adrian Bell, CEO Kent, Surrey &Sussex Air Ambulance said ”KSSAAT has been operating a 24/7 Emergency Medical Service for over a year now and has learned considerably from nine months plus of full night flying operations. One very clear, but not unexpected lesson is that we need to replace one of our older MD902 aircraft and increase our overall aviation capability for the longer term benefit of our patients. We have therefore undertaken an exhaustive review of all relevant aircraft types and the AW169 is the only helicopter that fully meets our increasingly demanding clinical and operational requirements.”

He went on to say “We are in no doubt whatsoever that the AW169 is the right aircraft to give us the resilient, sustainable, safe and effective capabilities so vital for our service and we therefore look forward to working with Specialist Aviation Services and AgustaWestland to bring this emergency medical helicopter into service next autumn as the launch customer in the UK. Our decision to select the AW169 is based on the aircraft performance, inherent safety features, payload, cabin size and design, and its many advanced features which will allow us to change the way we operate in a manner that will greatly benefit the patients we carry.”

http://www.verticalmag.com/news/arti...U8bDvJSSwnk

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Select AW169

AgustaWestland is pleased to announce that the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance has selected an AW169 twin-engine light intermediate helicopter to perform emergency medical service missions. The aircraft will start operations from its base at Henstridge on the Dorset / Somerset border in South West England in 2016 and will be able to reach any point in the two counties faster than ever due to its maximum cruise speed and quickly transport patients to hospitals and major trauma centres in the South West.



The AW169 was selected following an extensive evaluation process by the Charity and its clinical partners thanks to its outstanding characteristics and superior capabilities and safety standards, which will ensure unprecedented levels of mission effectiveness to meet customer’s requirements for enhanced life-saving duties. This contract continues the success already achieved by the AW169 in the UK helicopter market and marks the first EMS tender win in the UK for this new generation helicopter.

Bill Sivewright, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance CEO, said: “Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance’s vision for the future assume one of clinical excellence. The capability and flexibility offered by the AW169 made it a clear winner in our selection process. We are looking forward to the point in time when we can start operating this fantastic helicopter and offering our patients an even more capable service that we have been proud to do in the last 14 years.”

The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance’s AW169 helicopter will feature a full air medical interior to provide advanced patient care and will also be equipped with the latest avionic standard in order to allow an enhancement of the operational safety based on a significant reduction of the pilot workload, together with the possibility to operate under NVG rules if required.

http://www.verticalmag.com/news/arti...U8ijrJSSwnk

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance to go 24/7

More lives are set to be saved after the air ambulance service that operates in Oxfordshire revealed it will begin night flights.

From next year, the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance will be able to fly 24 hours a day from its base at RAF Benson after getting a new helicopter.

The service, which covers Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, is planning to lease a state-of-the-art machine equipped for night flying.

Charity chief executive Mark McGeown said: “Night flying takes helicopter emergency medical services to the next level and TVACAA truly into a new era in our nearly 15-year long history.


The TV&C EC135

“This is a major achievement for our service.

“It is through the hard work of our dedicated team that we have been able to achieve this.

Spokeswoman Antonia Taylor said: “We’re getting a brand new helicopter, an Airbus EC135T3.

“It’s optimised for night flying. Realistically, it’ll be the second half of 2015 when night flights start. It’s likely we’ll employ more staff; we’ll have additional paramedic shifts to fill.”

The Thames Valley service launched in 1999 and has so far flown more than 15,000 missions.

The number of flights varies over the year but averages three a day.

During the summer, there can be up to 10 flights.

Nine out of 10 have a doctor on board and the TVCAA’s goal is to ensure there will soon be one on every flight.

The charity will also expand its staff quarters to accommodate the extended operating times.

Most incidents are patients injured in road accidents or significant falls. The need for the expanded service has risen with 35 trauma patients transported in the last three months, compared with 21 in the previous quarter.

Ms Taylor said: “The South Central Ambulance Service takes the initial call. They determine whether the incident warrants a call-out.

“We have the pilot, one or two paramedics, one doctor and the patient in the helicopter.

“We also have blood on board which offers more treatment options.”

The news comes as the service marks National Air Ambulance Week this week.

“Mrs Taylor added: “National Air Ambulance Week is primarily outreach for us. This announcement has been leading it. We’re thanking people for their donations.”

The charity is upgrading to the new helicopter alongside Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

Apart from their night-flying capabilities, the new machines can remain in the air longer and use less fuel.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/114...ime_999_calls/

[HeliHub News]

Wales Air Ambulance to Receive NHS Support

A new clinical emergency service to stabilise and transfer the most critically-ill and injured patients to hospital by road and air, ensuring they receive the best life-saving care, will be operational in Wales from April 2015, Deputy Minister for Health Vaughan Gething announced

The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service Cymru (EMRTS Cymru) is the first national service of its kind in the UK and has been developed using the latest evidence from military and civilian experience.

The service is designed to bring teams of doctors to an injured patient, giving them access to life-saving treatment at the scene of their injury or accident.


Wales Air Ambulance is to benefit from the support of the NHS

It is estimated EMRTS Cymru could contribute to at least a 40% improvement in survival rates from major trauma in Wales and could reduce transfer times to specialist hospital care by more than 40%.

The introduction of the new service, which will serve all Wales, will mean 95% of the population will be able to access doctor-led care within 30 minutes.

The EMRTS Cymru service will be delivered by a team of highly-trained NHS doctors from emergency medicine, anaesthesia and intensive care working jointly with critical care paramedics from the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

It will be delivered in partnership with the Wales Air Ambulance charity, using its existing three air ambulances. The EMRTS service will provide NHS consultants to Wales Air Ambulance flights – it will be in addition to the charity’s existing helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) operations across Wales.

Deputy Minister for Health Vaughan Gething said: “This new service will transform our ability to provide the very best care to the most critically-ill patients in Wales. It will provide patients in remote and rural areas of Wales with rapid access to the skills of a consultant in emergency or intensive care medicine, who are equipped to provide life-saving, specialist critical care.

“Our aim for specialist emergency services in Wales is for the most seriously-injured and sick patients to be treated by the very best clinicians, providing world-class, life-saving treatment. These highly-specialised services will be provided at a fewer number of hospitals in the future but they will be supported by a wider network of local hospitals, offering people access to local accident and emergency care.

“The EMRTS Cymru service I am delighted to be announcing today will ensure patients have access these services at the most appropriate specialist site in a timely manner, ensuring improved patient outcomes. “We look forward to working alongside Wales Air Ambulance in delivering this new service.”

The establishment of EMRTS Cymru will support the reconfiguration of specialist services in Wales, ensuring that emergency services for the sickest and most seriously-injured patients are safe and sustainable for the future, while also improving clinical outcomes for patients.

EMRTS Cymru will be responsible for:

• Responding to medical and traumatic emergencies at the scene, including the provision of medical support at major incidents and mass casualty events
• Stabilisation and retrieval of time-critical patients from district general hospitals to specialist centres
• Critical care support providing enhanced stabilisation and transfer of mothers and babies
• Provide road and air support to rapidly transfer neonatal teams to time-critical life threatening emergencies
• Paediatric retrieval – transfer of time-critical patients, currently undertaken by the referring hospital.

Angela Hughes, chief executive of Wales Air Ambulance, said: “To secure NHS consultants on board our flights is a remarkable leap forward in providing one of the most advanced air ambulance services in the world.

“Over the last few years we have received incredible support from our fundraisers to upgrade our three helicopters and trial night flights, and the addition of doctors to all Wales Air Ambulance flights is another fantastic development in our service to people across Wales.”

EMRTS Cymru will be co-ordinated from a new hub being developed by the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, which will be staffed by paramedics, supported by NHS consultants.

The service, which will be operational from late April 2015, will have two bases at Swansea and Welshpool, which will provide air and road services for 12 hours a day – from these two bases it will be able to reach 95% of the population by air and 46% by road within 30 minutes. As part of the service, a consultant lead and deputy lead will be based at the Caernarfon base to support its development.

The Welsh Government has earmarked capital funding of £1.895m in 2014-15 to set up the service, and recurrent revenue funding of £2.868m from 2015-16 to support the EMRTS Cymru service.

http://helihub.com/2014/10/03/wales-...ll-flights/

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Bristol-Based Air Ambulance Upgraded to EC135

The Great Western Air Ambulance, that unlike its predecessor, can now land on the Bristol Royal Infirmary helipad and has made its first flight in the city. The state-of-the-art Eurocopter 135 helicopter was unveiled yesterday at the charity's Filton Airfield base.

It will replace the current helicopter, a 1970's Bolkow, enabling the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) to enhance the care it offers. The quicker, lighter and larger helicopter means its critical care team can take patients straight to the BRI, rather than landing on the Downs and then driving in by ambulance, which was previously the case.


The new Bristol-based Air Ambulance, an EC135, G-GWAA

The time difference, which could be up to 20 minutes, will also give a vital lifeline to patients going to nearby Bristol Children's Hospital and Bristol Heart Institute.

The cabin of the new helicopter is 40 per cent larger than the Bo105 and has an extra seat – meaning if someone is injured, a parent or relative will be able to travel with them. It also means new paramedics and doctors can receive training by going up with the critical care team.

The new helicopter also has a side-loading facility which will reduce the amount of time it takes to get patients onboard. With the previous helicopter, patients were loaded through the back.

GWAAC does not receive any Government or National Lottery funding, so to lease the new helicopter its charity had to raise £250,000. To keep it in the air the charity now has the daunting task of raising £2m a year.

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/New-amb.../story.html

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Nicky Smith to Fly Witshire's 429

Nicky Smith, who has been a trailblazer for women helicopter pilots, has joined Wiltshire Air Ambulance (WAA).

Nicky is the UK’s first female Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) pilot and joined WAA on November 1 after serving three-and-a-half years with Essex and Herts Air Ambulance.

Nicky made history as the UK’s first woman military helicopter pilot in 1992 and was also the first woman to command an operational flying squadron in a 17 year career with the Royal Air Force. She primarily flew Search and Rescue Sea King helicopters.


Helicopter pilot Nicky Smith is to join Wiltshire's Air Ambulance service

Wiltshire Air Ambulance is also making aviation history as its new helicopter is the first Bell 429 to operate as an air ambulance in the UK.

The charity starts operating the Bell 429 as a dedicated air ambulance in January as its 24-year partnership with Wiltshire Police for the joint helicopter comes to an end in December, when the force joins the National Police Air Service.

She said: “I know I will be working for a class outfit and am very excited about coming on board and flying Helimed 22 (the new helicopter’s call sign).”

Nicky’s childhood dream was to become a helicopter pilot. Her father served in the army and the family lived at an Army Air Corps base in Germany and Nicky loved to watch helicopters taking off and landing.

She added: “I get great satisfaction from being part of a team that can make a significant difference to a patient and, in some cases, this is between living or dying. “Before I flew air ambulances, I had no idea that this sort of medicine could be administered by the side of the road.”

http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/bu...air_ambulance/