5 February 2010
London’s
Air Ambulance (LAA) is to be the first in the UK to
operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week from 1 March, thanks
to increased support from the London Ambulance
Service.
Up until now, the registered charity has been
able to fund a 24 hour service at weekends only, using specially
equipped rapid response cars to cover all after-dark missions, when
the helicopter goes off-line. Throughout the rest of the week, the
service finished at 1am, resuming with helicopter missions at
7am.
Now, thanks to a generous move from the London
Ambulance Service to fund the wages of all LAA paramedics, the
rapid response cars can continue to operate from 1am to 7am, every
single day of the year.
London Ambulance Service Medical Director Dr
Fionna Moore said: "We are committed to providing the most
appropriate response to our patients 24/7. Our decision to fund
staff to work with London's Air Ambulance 24-hours a day will
ensure that our most seriously injured patients receive life-saving
treatment on the scene and on the way to hospital. The move will
also ensure that those patients are taken to directly to a hospital
where they will get the best possible level of care from a team of
senior, expert clinicians."
- Ends -
Notes to editors: