Devon Air Ambulance sees 'record number of rescues' in 2023

Devon Air Ambulance (DAA) has rescued a record number of patients in 2023, bosses say.

The latest figures show crew attended 2,226 incidents across the county, a 21% increase on the previous year, they said.

Of those missions, 1,040 were classed as medical emergencies and 1,176 were "trauma-related incidents".

The charity said it illustrated "just how vital the medical emergency service remains to the people of Devon".

The last record for DAA was in 2021, when the organisation rescued more than 1,900 people.

Speaking about the latest figures, Operations Director Nigel Hare said it was a "staggering" number.

He said: "Just under 50% of the patients we responded to last year were suffering from a life-threatening medical emergency, such as a heart attack, severe asthma attack or a cardiac arrest.

"It demonstrates just how frequently we respond to patients who are in their own home, place of work or just out and about, undertaking day-to-day activities."

The figures also said that 12% of the patients treated were children, and 27% over 70 years of age.

DAA crews were also tasked to many patients taking part in sports and leisure activities, including 39 equestrian-related incidents.

Some 399 missions were in the hours of darkness, where many of the charities community landing sites were used to enable aircraft to land safely, bosses said.

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