Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance
Founded 2007 (2007)
Type Charitable organisation
Registration no. 1106234
Location
Area served
Hampshire & Isle of Wight
Key people
 Alex Lochrane, Chief executive
Employees
20
Website www.hiowaa.org

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is an air ambulance service serving the counties of Hampshire and Isle of Wight in Southern England, United Kingdom. It is one of twenty-five air ambulance services in the United Kingdom.

The service began operating on 1 July 2007 and has flown over 7,000 missions. The charity's head office is located at 22 Oriana Way, Southampton and the helicopter is based at Thruxton airfield near Andover.[1]

Service

The service covers the counties of Hampshire and Isle of Wight and responds where required to major trauma injuries and other incidents in need of a fast response/transfer to hospital. Since early 2016, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance has got a new H135 helicopter which is capable of night missions. This new helicopter now allows Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance to operate helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) during both daylight and darkness hours. The current service is now between 7am and 2am, 365 days a year.

In addition to the helicopter, a Critical Care Car (CCC) is operational during the same hours - carrying both a doctor and paramedic - allowing the charity to double the number of patients it attends to. The CCC is a Volvo XC90,[2] with a personalised numberplate, HA10 WAA, an acronym for the charity's name. It was donated anonymously.[3]

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance currently has a partnership with Thames Valley Air Ambulance, both of which cover the area that South Central Ambulance Service covers, allowing each service to cover 19 hours for 16 consecutive nights. This means Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire all have HEMS cover 19 hours a day.

The air ambulance costs around £270,000 per month to operate efficiently and successfully, roughly £9,000 a day.[4]

Helicopter and crew

G-HIOW
The current H&IOW Air Ambulance - G-HIOW - an Eurocopter EC135
Past Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, pictured at Thruxton Airfield, Hampshire
The former Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, pictured at Victoria Park, Newbury

The current helicopter is a twin-engined Eurocopter EC135, a type often utilised as an air ambulance. It is usually airborne within four minutes and typically flies at 140 mph, making it capable of reaching most locations in Hampshire within fifteen minutes, though flights to the Isle of Wight may take longer.

The Eurocopter EC135 replaced its predecessor, a 33-year-old MBB Bo 105, in September 2010.[5] The EC135 can carry a crew of up to four, but typically carries two paramedics and one pilot. An additional doctor or family member of the patient may occupy the fourth seat.[6]

In October 2015, a new EC135 replaced the previous one.[7] It is powered by two Turbomeca Arrius 2BPLUS engines, has a range of 432 nautical miles and an endurance of roughly 4 and a half hours. The helicopter is fitted with two Garmin GPS systems, moving map displays, two iPad minis, a power line detection system, night vision goggles and a Trakka Systems A800[8] high intensity searchlight. It is capable of night flying.

The air ambulance is always crewed by a pilot, a doctor and critical care paramedic, and sometimes an additional paramedic.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "About Us — Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance". Hiow-airambulance.org.uk. 2007-07-01. Archived from the original on 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  2. ↑ "The Critical Care Team Vehicle | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance". Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  3. ↑ "HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT AIR AMBULANCE RECEIVES A UNIQUE DONATION | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance". Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. 2017-05-24. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  4. ↑ "The Service — Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance". Hiow-airambulance.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  5. ↑ "Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance celebrate new helicopter (From Daily Echo)". Dailyecho.co.uk. 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  6. ↑ "The Helicopter — Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance". Hiow-airambulance.org.uk. 2010-09-29. Archived from the original on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  7. ↑ "The helicopter | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance". Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  8. ↑ Trakka Systems
  9. ↑ "The Critical Care Team | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance". Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
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