To add to its current fleet, Wales Air Ambulance gets a new helicopter to provide air medical transport service. As the fourth of its fleet, this new helicopter makes the air ambulance operation the biggest in the U.K. During the second week of August, the new helicopter visited Wales Air Ambulance’s North Wales base as part of its familiarization flight.
Operations of the Wales Air Ambulance
Wales Air Ambulance was launched in 2001 and has managed to complete 24,000 flights since then. Although the charity receives no funding from the government, it has been able to carry out its operations smoothly with the help of public donations. On an average, the charity spends £1,500 for each mission and has to raise at least £6 million annually to keep its helicopters flying.
About 120 of the missions they carry out annually across Wales involve farming incidents. These incidents and road accidents tend to be the most critical cases the air medical transport crew has to respond to. With the ability to provide speedy transportation and medical care to patients in remote locations, Wales Air Ambulance proves to be crucial for rural regions like Conwy, Denbighshire, and Gwynedd.
New Air Medical Transport Helicopter to Expand the Fleet
Wales Air Ambulance service currently operates using three Eurocopter EC135 helicopters. These helicopters operate from three different bases – Caernarfon, Llanelli, and Welshpool. With the help of this fleet, the charity has been able to provide quick and efficient transportation to patients in life-threatening conditions or suffering from time-critical illnesses or injuries.
The fourth helicopter was used for training in July and the charity hopes to make it operational for missions by the end of August. It will be based in Cardiff, enabling Wales Air Ambulance to carry out more missions and help save even more lives across the country.
