London's Air Ambulance demand at 'highest ever'

The demand for London's Air Ambulance is at its "highest ever level", according to the charity.

The service said it helped 2,058 patients in 2024 - breaking its own records.

The "sobering" figures highlight the "ongoing, urgent need for advanced pre-hospital care in the capital", the charity said.

It has launched a new 15-year plan which outlines how ongoing funding "remains critical".

London's Air Ambulance's advanced trauma care team said it was seeing an average of six patients a day, one more than the previous five-a-day average.

In terms of treatment, the team said it was now performing open chest surgery on average once a week.

It is also needed to give blood transfusions once every 36 hours, and pain relief via intubation on average once each day.

New figures show that assaults, road-traffic collisions, and falls from height remain the leading causes of critical injuries in London.

The charity said last year it received the most calls from Tower Hamlets, Westminster, Lambeth, and Southwark.

Following a successful two-year fundraising campaign, with a £15m target, the service was able to buy two new helicopters which came into service last autumn.

Jonathan Jenkins, the chief executive of London's Air Ambulance Charity, said: "The people of this city came together to secure the future of our helicopter fleet—now, we ask for their continued support to ensure we remain at the forefront of saving lives and shaping global clinical practice."

He said it was "sobering" to see how many people needed the service in the capital last year, and that once again, the numbers had risen from the previous year.

Mr Jenkins said 2,058 patients was "not just a statistic".

"Behind this figure are people like us, with networks of friends, families and loved ones who will all have been affected," he said.

"We know that trauma never stops. But neither do we."

London's Air Ambulance said a new 15-year plan outlined how ongoing funding remained "critical to maintaining the cutting-edge skills, technology, and resources that enable the team to deliver pioneering trauma care".

The charity said the new strategy focussed on using its medics' expert skills to "deliver the best possible outcomes for patients and their families".

It said this could mean "saving a life, protecting an injured brain, or providing the opportunity for loved ones to say goodbye".

Dr Tom Hurst, the charity's medical director, said: "Every patient we treat is facing one of the worst moments of their life.

"Our new vision places hope at the centre of our work - hope that our intervention will give each patient the best possible chance of survival and recovery."

He added that the latest figures "reaffirm the need" for the service.

• Attends to London's most critically injured patients, using helicopters and rapid response cars
• Advanced trauma teams perform life-saving procedures usually found in the emergency department, on-scene
• The registered charity relies on donations and requires £17m a year to operate
• Medical staff are provided by the NHS, but the helicopters and support staff are paid for through donations.

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