Magpas

Magpas was founded as the Mid Anglia General Practitioner Accident Service in 1971 by Dr Neville Silverston OBE and Dr Derek Cracknell,[1] who responded to road accidents in their own cars.

The origins of the name relate to a close historical and geographical association with Cambridgeshire Constabulary which, until 1974, was known as the Mid-Anglia Constabulary. The service was originally provided by general practitioners from across the mid-Anglia area that was activated by the police and ambulance services to attend serious accidents and provide on-scene care. Magpas provided the training, equipment and governance framework. The organisation became a registered charity in 1972.[2] The charity has been known as Magpas Air Ambulance since acquiring its own helicopter in 2013.[3]

Within the first five years that Magpas was operational the road accident fatality rate in mid-Anglia fell by 36%.

In 1977, Magpas contributed to the foundation of the British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS) to raise and maintain the standards of care given by doctors responding to medical emergencies. Today BASICS is a recognised authority on pre-hospital immediate care and Magpas remains a member. As NHS paramedics developed so did the charity. It undertook detailed research into its effectiveness and reviewed the way it operated.

In 1997, the charity entered a new partnership with Cambridgeshire Constabulary to use the police helicopter for deployment of medical staff and patient transport.^[1]

In 1999, Magpas Air Ambulance became the first service in the region to provide a night-time helicopter emergency medical service.

In 2007, the East Anglian Air Ambulance agreed to provide a helicopter, dubbed Anglia Two, to be based out of RAF Wyton for daytime missions.[4] Although this was withdrawn in 2010, and Magpas Air Ambulance went back to providing the whole service, in conjunction with the police.

From 2000 until 2010, the charity developed a network of community first responder schemes across Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. These local volunteers were trained by Magpas and then responded to medical emergencies such as chest pain and breathing difficulties in their local area. Their role was to treat the patient until the ambulance service arrived. In 2010, the Magpas Air Ambulance first responders were joined with other schemes under the leadership of the East of England Ambulance Trust.

In 2010, East Anglian Air Ambulance announced plans for their helicopter service which would no longer rely on Magpas volunteers.[5] In 2012, Magpas Air Ambulance began flying with its own helicopter, having paid to use a police helicopter for the preceding fifteen years.[6]

The charity was heavily involved in the creation of Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM), a sub-specialty of emergency medicine and anaesthesia recognised by the General Medical Council. Doctors train with Magpas in giving people facing serious medical emergencies lifesaving procedures and treatments which are not normally available outside of a hospital

Magpas was registered with the Healthcare Commission,[7] and was inspected by the Care Quality Commission in March 2014.[8] This looks at the governance and quality assurance of the care provided to ensure it meets national standards.

In October 2015, Magpas Air Ambulance announced it would provide a 24-hour service for emergency medical care and advice, although the helicopter is not available at all times. By doing so, it became the first air ambulance charity in the East of England region to offer round-the-clock care.[9]

• 
  Neville Silverston
• 
  Early Magpas control
• 
  Volunteer 1980s
• 
  Volunteer 1990s

In partnership with the University Hospital of Leicester, Magpas Air Ambulance runs CTARP (the Cambridge Trauma and Audit Research Project). This project looks to identify lessons from all cases of traumatic injury occurring in Cambridgeshire. This can then be used to improve the quality of care and examine ways to prevent incidents in the first place.[10]

• In 2019, the charity reported an income of £4.5 million with outgoings of £4.4M.[11]
• In 2019, the charity employed 38 people and had 76 volunteers.[11]

• Air ambulances in the United Kingdom

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Magpas.

• Official website
• Charity Commission. Magpas, registered charity no. 1119279.