Air Ambulance NI celebrates six years

This equates to an average of roughly two incidents per day, or 609 callouts per year.

The service operates year round for 12 hours per day from its main base in Lisburn, southwest of Belfast, and can respond to incidents anywhere in Northern Ireland in 25 minutes.

Approximately a third of incidents that Air Ambulance NI responds to are the result of road traffic collisions – however, the service also responds to serious falls, workplace accidents, farm or sports-related incidents, as well as cardiac arrests.

While the service offers emergency medical transport to patients of all ages, Glenn O’Rorke, Air Ambulance NI’s HEMS Operational Lead, said that approximately a 10th (11 per cent) of patients were pediatrics.

“That equates to approximately 70 children and young people each year or one or two a week. We are always prepared to treat anyone of any age, and carry specialized kit which is size appropriate, and clearly labeled by age for ease of access when every second counts at scene,” he explained. “Recently we held a pre-hospital emergency medicine training moulage specifically related to pediatrics to hone our skills for children of all ages.”

Breige Mulholland, Head of Operations and Finance at Air Ambulance NI, said: “HEMS is provided by a partnership between the charity and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS), and we would like to take this opportunity to extend our continued thanks to NIAS and the Department of Health for their continued support.

“Each time the helicopter lifts off we are aware that someone is in great need and that, thanks to the generosity of people locally, the HEMS team can respond and give hope. We are truly grateful to everyone who has been able to support us over the past six years,” Mulholland added.

The charity is relatively young by the standards of UK air ambulance services – but no less vital to the people it serves. The country’s oldest dedicated air ambulance charity, the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust, celebrated 35 years of operation last year.