Did you know ?

Road Traffic Accidents account for nearly half of the deaths of men and nearly a third of the deaths of women between the ages of 15 and 24. You can download a Police Report on it HERE to see the facts and figures. Major Trauma injuries are severe, they may involve damage to the brain or spine, and a patient’s condition can change very rapidly – so speed is of the essence. It could perhaps be a person with multiple injuries from a road traffic accident, a child with severe burns, a foreign visitor who has looked the wrong way before stepping out onto the road. However, Asthma attacks, diabetic episodes or heart trauma could easily also fall under Major Trauma classification. It is claimed one in three accident victims die unnecessarily and pre-hospital treatment is recognised as a key way of saving the lives of many of these victims.

When a call is assessed at the Ambulance Service Control Centre in Knockbracken as a major trauma emergency and passed to Ireland Air Ambulance we would be airborne inside 3 minutes. Ireland Air Ambulance will deliver a specialist medical team including a Trauma surgeon to the scene within minutes! We are therefore able to treat the patient in the so-called ‘golden hour’ – the time immediately after an accident when their chances of survival are highest. Whether that is a shopper or tourist crossing the road, a construction worker who has fallen off a high building or the victim of a shotgun wounding. 

Whatever the reason, major trauma patients need to be attended to immediately – and professionally. Unlike land ambulances, we are not obliged to take injured patients to the nearest hospital’s A&E department but can deliver them to the place best set up to treat that injury. Somebody with a major head injury, say, may need to have neuro-surgery within 3 hours to have a real chance of survival and recovery. Ireland Air Ambulance will achieve that whereas a conventional road ambulance may not be able to. The Doctor sees at first hand injuries that are often horrific; without the Air Ambulance it is likely that many more patients will die. And many more than that have been able to return to life and work. Head injury cases resume an active life – a far higher rate than for cases treated by any other means.

There are a number of elements that need to be covered and in a number of instances this will be completed via the Sponsorship route. This will include fuel, insurance, pilot’s salaries, hangarage, maintenance etc. Advertising driven sponsorship opportunities currently exist on staff uniforms and on vehicles and our 7 day-a-week travelling road show which is weekly exposed to a footfall in excess of 250,000 people. Future opportunities will exist on the aircraft. 

Ireland Air Ambulance is a registered charity; its aim is to provide the region’s First Helicopter Emergency Medical Service [HEMS]. Based in Belfast, the charity will be responsible for all fundraising issues including meeting the operational costs on a year-to-year basis and will also provide all necessary hardware and aviation crew. It will be the 17th Air Ambulance Service in the UK but only the 2nd to have a doctor on board full time and will be operating 365 days a year.

The region includes all of  Northern Ireland and the border counties including Cavan, Monaghan, Westmeath, Louth, Meath, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Mayo, Roscommon, Galway, Longford and Dublin. There are 16 air ambulance charities in the rest of the UK but none in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. 22 helicopters are in service daily, attending some 17,500 call-outs – on average an air ambulance takes off in England, Scotland or Wales every 10 minutes, 365 days a year in the daylight hours.

Most air ambulances carry a paramedic who can give initial medical treatment before the casualty is transported to hospital much faster than possible by road. However it is Ireland Air Ambulance’s aim to provide an enhanced service with the normal medical crew consisting of a trauma surgeon as well as a paramedic. This would give a capability for emergency surgery to be carried out on the spot, effectively bringing the resources of an Accident and Emergency (A & E) Department to where is may be needed most.

It is also planned to provide the helicopter with a winch and operator, so enabling the medical personnel to be lowered directly to where they are most needed in places where it would be unsafe or unsuitable to land.

The aircraft has the speed and range to reach anywhere within the Operating region within around ½ an hour.

In treating medical emergencies, the “golden hour” is an important concept. When a major trauma is suffered – in a road or rail accident or by wounding, or a fall from height or perhaps a heart attack or stroke – if the victim is treated and in hospital within an hour, then the chances of survival are greatly enhanced. A full helicopter borne trauma service would give the region a medical facility second to none and in the light of the closure of numerous A&E Departments it can be argued that the need has never been greater.

The air ambulance would be tasked from the existing Ambulance Control Centre at Knockbracken, where a decision would be made to launch following receipt of a 999 call in the usual way or a direct request from the Fire Brigade or Police. Ideally the region should have two of these helicopters but Ireland Air Ambulance recognises that a more modest start may lead to an eventual realization of a service which would match or surpass the cover provided in Great Britain.

Leasing an aircraft, three pilots, maintenance, hangarage, fuel, insurance, maintenance, ground support, Landing fees, Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) a spare helicopter available within 12 hours etc. will cost approximately for £1.83 million per year. If fundraising goes to plan it is hoped that this service could begin within two years.

Money is the vital issue. Funding for the medical staff would be sought from within the Department of Health budget but all other costs would need to be met from donations and sponsorship. The London Air Ambulance Service, to take one example, is sponsored by the Virgin Group. Public support is vital; a pound a week from 50,000 people would raise £2.5 million.


A number of projects are under way to raise these funds, one of which is the Alpha 5 Sponsored Tandem Jump. Anyone between 16 and 80 can take part. Participants could be your family, friends or work colleagues. You can enjoy the thrill of a lifetime whilst helping Ireland Air Ambulance raise much needed funds.