Midlands Air Ambulance

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity
Abbreviation MAAC
Formation 1990
Type Charity
Location
  • Cosford Shropshire, Tatenhill Staffordshire and Strensham Worcestershire.
Region
The Midlands
Key people
 Hanna Sebright - CEO
Website http://www.midlandsairambulance.com/
Eurocopter EC 135 G-HWAA based at Strensham

The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (formerly County Air Ambulance) is a charity operating a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in The Midlands area of England [1] It operates one Airbus Helicopters H145 and two Eurocopter EC135 aircraft.

History

The Midlands Air Ambulance was first registered as a charity in 1990, and started using the County Air Ambulance name in 1993. The role of the charity is the provision of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) in the Midland Counties of England[1] responding to 2,000 potentially life saving missions every year.[2]

At launch, the Midlands Air Ambulance operated a single helicopter based at Halfpenny Green Airport and, at its peak, had grown to operating three aircraft covering 8,000 square miles (21,000 km2) across twelve counties of England and Wales.[1] The reduction in areas covered began in 2006 and was largely due to other air ambulance charities setting up or expanding and to consolidation of West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) assets in the WMAS areas of responsibility. The operating name was changed back to Midlands Air Ambulance in 2009 to reflect the smaller area covered.[1]

Until 31 March 2008, they also served the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) area, based at East Midlands Airport, but, after some political wrangling between WMAS and EMAS, the aircraft was withdrawn and redeployed into Tatenhill, Staffordshire, despite the presence of the nearby Cosford aircraft.

From 3 April 2014 the MAA officially unveiled its first wholly owned helicopter (registration G-OMAA), which replaced one of the three leased aircraft.

In September 2015, three members of the Midlands Air Ambulance team were honoured with a Pride of Britain Award following their heroic response to a roller coaster crash at Alton Towers.[3]

In November 2017, doctors began working all shifts from all three airbases,[4] working alongside a paramedic and pilot. Previously, only RAF Cosford had a doctor on-duty on a daily basis[4], leaving the other two bases with dual paramedic coverage.

On February 20th 2018 MAAC received a brand new Airbus Helicopters H145, the second aircrraft owned by the Charity. The aircraft was handed over at the Strensham Services base,[5] before being transferred to RAF Cosford.

Organisation

The charity is supported by paramedics from the West Midlands Ambulance Service and doctors from their respective NHS trusts. The charity is funded entirely by charitable donations given by corporate organisations and members of the public. In 2007/2008, the charity had an income of £6,222,000.[1]

The charity should not be confused with the County Air Ambulance Trust, which is a separate registered charity.[6] That charity raises money for the provision of infrastructure items (such as helipads at hospitals) and also make an annual contribution towards a number of air ambulance charities, including the Midlands Air Ambulance.

Coverage

As of March 2018, the Midlands Air Ambulance service had using two Eurocopter EC 135 helicopters and a Eurocopter H145 based at RAF Cosford, Tatenhill Airfield and at Strensham services. The service covers the English counties of Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, the West Midlands, and the English/Welsh border area.[1]

Helicopters

G-HWAA EC135

The Midlands Air Ambulance was the first charity in the United Kingdom to use the Eurocopter EC135 helicopter in order to provide an air ambulance service. Each helicopter is crewed by one pilot, one doctor and one paramedics, or occasionally one doctor and two paramedics. The paramedics are seconded from the West Midlands Ambulance Service.

The pilots, one leased aircraft and maintenance are provided by Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore.

Current Fleet[7]
Registration Aircraft Callsign Owner
RAF Cosford G-RMAA Airbus Helicopter H145 Helimed 03 MAA
Strensham Services G-HWAA Eurocopter EC135 Helimed 06 Babcock
Tatenhill Airfield G-OMAA Eurocopter EC135 Helimed 09 MAA
Previous Fleet
Registration Aircraft From Until
G-EMAA Eurocopter EC135 2005 2018
G-WMAA MBB Bo105 1994 2006
G-WMAS Eurocopter EC135 2001 2014

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Trustees Report and Annual Accounts 2007/2008
  2. ↑ Andrews, Mark (13 May 2016). "Keeping the air ambulance flying". Shropshire Star (15759). p. 8.
  3. ↑ "Alton Towers crash medics win Pride of Britain Award". Dial2Donate. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Midlands Air Ambulance Charity on Instagram: "It now costs £9 million every year to operate the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. Here are a few reasons why...find out how you can help at…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  5. ↑ "H145 Handed Over to Midlands Air Ambulance". Helis.com. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  6. ↑ The County Air Ambulance Trust Annual Reports & Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2007
  7. ↑ "Midlands Air Ambulance Charity | Saving Lives by Saving Time". www.midlandsairambulance.com. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
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