HIOWAA completes 12,000 flights

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA), based in the UK, has completed its 12,000^th flight.

Doctors, paramedics, pilots and dispatchers from the charity responded to a patient who required emergency critical care following a road traffic collision in Basingstoke on Thursday 20 July. The team provided treatment to a patient before transferring them to hospital in a road ambulance, to allow them to continue providing necessary treatment en route.

Since its first take off on 1 July 2007, the charity has responded to more than 17,500 emergency missions across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and surrounding areas by air and road. These included cardiac arrests, falls from height and assaults.

HIOWAA CEO Richard Corbett said: “To reach 12,000 flights is a remarkable achievement. But every single one of those calls for help is to a husband, wife, brother, sister, mother, father, friend, colleague. The truth is, nobody knows if or when they’re going to need an air ambulance. For many of those patients, it will be the worst day of their lives. But thanks to the extraordinary dedication and generosity of our supporters, we can try and make that day slightly better and give those patients the best possible chance of survival and recovery.”

Advancements in the service means that today the doctors and paramedics on board can carry out procedures that are usually only found in a hospital setting, such as a thoracotomy – a surgical incision to the chest wall used to treat life-threatening conditions – or an amputation, all at the side of the road, in someone’s kitchen, within a busy shopping centre or at a rural area.