2022 busiest year on record for Thames Valley Air Ambulance

It attended more than 3,000 callouts

Author: Charlotte Evans-YoungPublished 16th Jan 2023

Last year was the busiest year on record for Thames Valley Air Ambulance as it attended more than 3,000 callouts across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire.

In 2022, the independent healthcare charity recorded 3,158 missions across the three counties - a rise of almost 10% on the previous year.

Critical care paramedics were called to 1,161 incidents in Berkshire, 1,086 in Buckinghamshire, 818 in Oxfordshire and 93 in the surrounding area.

Cardiac arrests made for the highest percentage of callouts at 34%, with medical emergencies at 21%, accidental injuries at 16%, and road traffic collisions at 14%.

December was the busiest month of the year, with crews attending 305 callouts. The next busiest months were November and June, respectively.

Thames Valley Air Ambulance Chief Operating Officer Adam Panter said: “2022 was incredibly busy for our crews for a number of reasons including the impact of our communities returning to full and active lives.

"In addition to this, we are working hard to identify the cases which would benefit most from our crews’ expertise earlier and therefore dispatching our critical care teams to more of them.

“Answering 3,158 callouts is testament to their professionalism and the whole team at Thames Valley Air Ambulance supporting their lifesaving efforts.

"But this simply couldn’t happen without the community we serve; without their generous donations of funds and volunteering time, we wouldn’t be able to make the difference we do. Thank you.”

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