The Great North Air Ambulance Service responded to more than 2,100 incidents in 2023 – making it its busiest year on record.
It is an increase of over 260 incidents compared to 2022’s figures and is a consequence of the charity’s expansion of its service.
At the start of January last year, the charity began operating seven nights a week in the North East and later that year extended the night-time service in Cumbria to four nights.
The charity currently provides air ambulance services across the region, mainly in hours of daylight and from 8pm to 8am, the team transfers to a rapid response vehicle.
The car carries the same life-saving equipment as the helicopter and is staffed by a highly skilled paramedic and doctor team who can deliver blood, anaesthetic procedures, and other advanced treatments to critically ill or injured patients.
David Stockton, chief executive officer of GNAAS, said: “We’re very proud of the fact that we have been operating a 24/7 service in the North East for over a year and we’re hoping to replicate this in Cumbria in the coming months.
“Our rapid response vehicles were deployed nearly 300 times more last year in comparison to 2022. This is a direct result of our night-time expansion and just proves how vital it is for our team to be able to deliver a high level of pre-hospital care to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
In total, the charity’s critical care teams, which are based in Eaglescliffe in the North East, and Penrith in Cumbria, responded to 2,124 incidents in the North East, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Cumbria, Scotland and the Isle of Man.
The bulk of incidents were road traffic collisions, followed by cardiac arrests, falls and assaults.
Mr Stockton added: “When our doctors, paramedics and pilots start their shift, they don’t know what type of incidents they are going to respond to or who they are going to meet.
“Every day is different for them, but their sole focus remains the same, which is delivering the best care to their patients.
“As a charity, we do not receive government funding, and must therefore raise £8.5m per year to keep the service operational.
“While it has been challenging to raise funds over the past few years, with factors such as COVID, the war in Ukraine, and the cost of living crisis impacting us, I just want to say how truly thankful we are to those who have either donated or fundraised for GNAAS.
“We’re coming up to our 22nd year as a charity, and it would not have been possible without the fantastic support of the public.”
