Air ambulance unveils 24/7 car response service
BBCA car-based emergency response service run by an air ambulance charity has been upgraded to give 24/7 coverage.
Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) launched the Critical Care Car in 2020 after identifying hundreds of emergencies where it would have been the most appropriate response.
Now a substantial donation from the HELP Appeal has enabled LNAA to buy two new, fully equipped, vehicles which will allow around the clock coverage in Nottinghamshire - the service previously ran from 07:00 to 19:00.
Crews said they expected to treat an additional two emergency cases a day "which could be the difference between life and death".
Crewed by the charity's doctors and paramedics, the cars carry the same lifesaving equipment found on board the helicopter, including ventilators and advanced medicines.
The 24/7 Critical Care Car service launched at the beginning of July, from Tollerton in Nottinghamshire, and responded to 81 incidents in 21 days, with 36 of these during the times covered by the expanded service.
Each car carries a doctor and a critical care paramedic and "effectively takes the equivalent of a hospital emergency department directly to the scene", the crews said.
Dr Poppy Elmhirst said: "We have the same kit you would find on the helicopters replicated in the back of the cars which means we can offer the same life-saving treatment.
"We attend alongside the ambulance service but offer more specialist treatment like blood transfusions, anaesthetic and some surgical procedures."
Critical care paramedic Alex Walker said: "Our ability to be available to respond to missions 24/7 in Nottingham is probably going to result in us seeing an additional two patients a day.
"That's two people a day who will receive care which could be the difference between life and death."
Head of operations, Laura Evans, who helped lead the expansion project, said: "Our air ambulance crew are called to patients suffering from the very worst injuries and illnesses.
"We are proud and privileged to be there for them in their time of need."
In May LNAA launched an appeal to raise the final £500,000 needed to fund a second helicopter, which it hopes to get in the air by late summer 2027.
Listen to BBC Radio Nottingham on Sounds and follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.