2020 was second busiest year EVER for Hampshire Air Ambulance
The Thruxton based service has been revealing their most common call-outs
Last updated 5th Feb 2021
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) tell us that 2020 was their second busiest on record, despite the pandemic.
The life-saving helicopter and its rapid response cars were tasked with 1,577 missions throughout the year.
That's 685 fewer call-outs than during 2019 - their busiest year ever - even though we were at home for much more of the time due to lockdowns.
WHAT WAS HIOWAA CALLED OUT TO?
27% of all the incidents attended (423) were to cardiac arrests.
The next most common kind of mission was road traffic collisions, accounting for 21% of the emergencies they went to (324).
The busiest month was January, with 189 call-outs, while April was the quietest for Hampshire's Air Ambulance, with just 65 missions attended, at the height of the first lockdown.
HIOWAA Deputy CEO, Sherie Williams Ellen, said:
"These figures demonstrate the fundamental need for our life-saving service. To surpass the number of call-outs we received in 2018, while much of the nation spent long periods of time indoors, is simply staggering. Throughout the pandemic our doctors, specialist paramedics and pilots have continued to provide the most seriously ill and injured people in our region with the most advanced critical care available.
"I am beyond proud of the way in which our charity has responded to the health crisis and the subsequent demands placed upon the team. Every step of the way, however, we have been backed up by our incredibly generous donors. Without them, none of what we do would be possible."
Specialist paramedics from HIOWAA also spent time working at the University of Southampton A&E department throughout 2020, along with helping the National Critical Care Transfer Cell.
That helps to relieve pressure on hospital Intensive Care Units in more remote areas of the country.
For example, the team helped to move Covid-19 patients from the Isle of Wight to hospitals on the mainland.
Wiltshire's Air Ambulance told us last month that 2020 had been their busiest year on record.