TV showcase for Great North Air Ambulance

The work of the UK’s Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) will be showcased in a new prime-time television series to be broadcast by Sky at the beginning of January. The six-part series, Air Ambulance ER, will feature footage gleaned over four months that production house Tern TV spent filming with the service over the summer in 2014, as it carried out missions in northeast England, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.

“[The series combines] glossy cinematography with fantastic characters and cutting-edge medicine,” commented Louise Say, producer of the series. “This elite team takes a hospital intensive care unit to the roadside, and uses medical techniques honed on the battlefields of the world’s toughest war zones. The film crew … was there every step of the way, from the moment the red phone rings, to the treatment of patients at the scene and their transfer to hospital. Back at base, they filmed the lighter moments of this close-knit team – anything from making a cuppa to cleaning the loos. It’s all part of a day in the life of the crew.”

Speaking on behalf of GNAAS, Jim Entwistle described the footage as an ‘unflinching look at the work of our medics as they battle to save lives across the region’. “As a charity,” he continued, “it can only be of benefit to us as it showcases the nature of the work we do and the level of expertise we have onboard our helicopters.”

Other UK air ambulances to feature in the programme include the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.