A Day In The Life Of... An Air Ambulance Paramedic

Ever thought about what it's like to be an Air Ambulance paramedic?

Wondering what it's really like spending your days attending accidents and emergencies, flying around in a helicopter?

Wanting to know the highs and lows of such a dramatic job?

Then you've come to the right place.

The Flying Doctor

Meet Justin Squires. If you’re involved in a road accident, fall off a horse, or injure yourself while out hiking in the Peak District, there’s a good chance that Justin will be flying to your aid. Justin is a doctor for Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance, and he will be working full time with the lifesaving Charity for the rest of the year.

Busy year for Air Ambulances

2012 was another busy year for our Air Ambulances. Both Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance and Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance were busy protecting the people of the East Midlands and Warwickshire from the air with our hard working Air Ambulance paramedics attending approximately 1,800 rescue missions between them. We've compiled some accident statistics for you about last year so you can see what it is an Air Ambulance does and why it's so important to keep on donating to our vital charity.

Road traffic collisions

Road accidents were the number one call out for both our Air Ambulances in 2012. Motorcyclists, pedestrians, car accidents, lorries, cyclists, you name it. In total 41% of all accidents attended by our Air Ambulance paramedics and doctors were road accidents.

Read about Anthony Brooks who was rescued by our Air Ambulance after a road accident in February 2012.

Cardiac

Just under 12% of incidents attended by our Air Ambulances were of a cardiac nature - calls to people suffering illnesses such as heart attacks. Our paramedics and doctors help to bring advanced clinical care to people suffering from lifethreatening cardiac problems to help improve their chances of survival and recovery.

Equestrian

Our Air Ambulances often get called to horse riding accidents as by their nature they happen in remote locations and often involve serious injuries such as back and neck damage. In 2012, 9% of the accidents attended by Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance were equestrian incidents.

Falls

Another common rescue mission call out is to people who have injured themselves by falling - whether our walking and climbing in the Peaks or from a ladder while doing some DIY. Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance in particular get called to a lot of falls giving their proximity to the Peak District, with 11% of accidents attended by the Air Ambulance involving a fall.

Read about Robin Bradshaw who was injured in a fall and taken to hospital by Air Ambulance in January 2012.

Sports

From rugby to football, our Air Ambulances have landed on many sports pitches in the last year. 8% of rescue missions, which is approximately 150, were sports related accidents in 2012.






So there's a brief summary of what our Air Ambulances did in 2012. We could go on and on about their fantastic achievements so for more information, and to read all about their latest rescue missions, make sure you check out our website - and remember all of this lifesaving work is funded by people like you!

To donate, text TAAS01 £5 to 70070. Thanks.