Dudley mission sees air ambulance reach huge milestone

An accident in Dudley was the 60,000th mission of the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity – making it one of the busiest air ambulance operators in the UK.

The milestone mission took place last Wednesday, when West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to Newland Grove, Dudley, at 2pm, to reports of a cyclist who had fallen off her bicycle.

An ambulance, a paramedic officer, a Midlands Air Ambulance Charity critical care car and the charity’s helicopter from Cosford with a MERIT trauma doctor on board attended.

Following treatment at the scene, the patient was conveyed via land ambulance to Russells Hall Hospital.

The lifesaving charity attended 4,781 missions from April 2019 to March 2020 via its three air ambulances and two critical care cars.

This represented an increase of 25 per cent year on year, and of note, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, demand for the essential pre-hospital service did not falter.

Leading up to the 60,000th mission, the top five common types of incident the charity attends were:

Cardiac-related
Road traffic collisions
Falls and collapses
Stabbings
Sports and equestrian

Ian Roberts, air operations manager for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, said: “We put the patients who need us at the heart of everything we do.

“Demand for our service does not falter, which is why we have now reached our 60,000th mission before our 30th anniversary next year.

“It’s clear that the advanced support delivered by the clinicians on-board our fleet of helicopters and critical care cars is needed now more than ever. Therefore, we are constantly looking to improve our operational services and provide the best advanced clinical care to those in critical need of our service.”

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is hosting an online bucket collection, hoping to raise £10,000 before September, which reflects the money that would have been raised at the charity’s two open days. To support, visit: www.midlandsairambulance.com/onlinebucketcollection