UK Air Ambulance Services Demand Operational Reforms

Air Ambulances UK is urging the government and healthcare agencies to implement a series of reforms that the group said would improve prospects for saving patients’ lives. The not-for-profit group representing the country’s emergency medical air helicopter operators today issued a four-point plan covering operations and funding.

At the top of the policy statement’s list of demands is that 24/7 helipads are available at all UK major trauma centers and specialist hospitals. Air Ambulances UK said that upgrades to infrastructure need to be prioritized at sites that it considers to be of “high or medium concern.”

Additionally, the association called for the UK Civil Aviation Authority to temporarily restore the use of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), which the country dropped as part of the Brexit process when it left the European Union. The UK government has come under increasing pressure from industry groups to reverse this decision on the grounds of safety and efficiency.

Air Ambulances UK is calling for health officials to give emergency helicopter crews full access to patient data so that they can “track outcomes and improve care” as part of the ongoing integration process for the National Health Service. The group also said that more work should be done to help the public understand that the UK’s 21 air ambulance services operate as charities with limited funding, on average flying more than 126 missions each day.

The group’s policy statement has been endorsed by supporters including Airbus Helicopters, the All-Party Parliamentary Groups for Air Ambulances and Aviation, Babcock International Group, the British Helicopter Association, and the County Air Ambulance Trust’s HELP Appeal.

“These priorities are informed by frontline operational experience and are on behalf of the urgent needs of the communities air ambulance charities serve,” said Jamie Ward, policy and public affairs manager at Air Ambulances UK.