Great North Air Ambulance Service loses money as call-outs surge

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) has responded to 45 incidents over the past two weekends alone. The same two weekends in 2020 – when Covid-19 restrictions were in place – saw the charity’s teams respond to only 17 incidents.

Andy Mawson, Director of Operations at GNAAS, said: “Demand is much higher than last year, and at times has been higher than ever before. The problem is that although demand is now back to normal levels, our fundraising remains lower than where we need it to be.”

Road traffic incidents make up most calls

Road traffic incidents made up the majority of the 45 incidents, with 12 related call-outs. There were eight call-outs to falls and a further eight to suspected assaults.

Mawson added: “As ever, we never know what we are facing from one day to the next, but with the support of the public, we can be ready when needed. It’s great to see that our teams have been there to respond to so many critical incidents. But the more we are called-out, the greater our costs.”

Through cancelled fundraising events and activity, the charity estimates it is losing more than £100,000 a month.

Earlier this year, GNAAS looked at how Covid-19 affected the charity’s work so far.