MAAC to expand night flying programme
Midlands Air Ambulance Charity has announced the further expansion of its temporary night-lit sites programme.
Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC), based in the UK, has announced the further expansion of its temporary night-lit sites programme. The project was initially started in February 2016, with four night-lit emergency helipads being opened across Herefordshire and Shropshire. The charity said that the sites, which were funded by the County Air Ambulance Trust via its HELP appeal, allow ‘a greater number of patients in urgent need of medical attention reach the hospitals best suited for their specific injuries’.
The sites have been in use since October by Midlands Air Ambulance’s three helicopters. Paramedic Julian Spiers said: “At Midlands Air Ambulance, we strive to offer the very best care to our patients, and this includes those who are unfortunate to need our services in the more remote part of the region.”
Spiers and Captain Richard Steele were part of the team that helped create the Community Emergency Landing Light Support (CELLS) programme, which ‘was launched to enable us to bring the very best clinical skillset to the patient, and to reduce transfer times to specialist hospitals after dark’, said Spiers. The duo received the innovation accolade at the charity’s Recognition Awards and Charity Ball in 2016.
Spiers added: “Phase one of the project has been a great success and the roll-out of phase two will mean we reach and treat more people as demand for our service continues to grow.”
Phase two will see the addition of a further CELLS site in Hereford, which is scheduled to be ready to use by the end of January.