Great North Air Ambulance Service

The Great North Air Ambulance Service’s (GNAAS) critical care teams in the North East and Cumbria responded to 17 incidents on Saturday 24 February and Sunday 25 February.

Their paramedic and doctor team were activated to 11 incidents in the North East, and responded four times on their helicopter and seven times on their rapid response vehicles (including stand downs).

In Cumbria their paramedic and doctor team were activated to six incidents in the county and responded four times on their helicopter and two times on their rapid response vehicles (including two stand down).

Here are statements for some of the incidents GNAAS’ team attended this weekend:

North East

Belford

On Saturday our critical care team based in Cumbria was activated at 12.09am to reports of a fall near Belford, Northumberland. We had a doctor and paramedic on board our aircraft and they arrived on scene at 12.41pm. Our team worked alongside the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) to assess and treat a patient and the patient was taken to hospital by a NEAS road crew.

Newton Aycliffe

On Saturday our critical care team was activated at 6.03pm to reports of a medical incident in Newton Aycliffe. We had a doctor and paramedic respond on a rapid response vehicle and they arrived on scene at 6.20pm. Our team worked alongside the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) to assess and treat a patient, and the patient was taken to hospital by the NEAS road crew, accompanied by our team.

Hamsterley

On Sunday our critical care team was activated at 3.02pm to reports of a fall near Hamsterley Forest. We had a doctor and paramedic on board our aircraft and they arrived on scene at 3.17pm. The team assessed and treated a patient and then returned back to their base at 4.24pm. The patient was taken to a local hospital by the North East Ambulance Service.

Cumbria

Orton

On Saturday our critical care team was activated at 5.14pm to reports of a road traffic collision in Orton, Westmorland and Furness.

We had a doctor and paramedic team on board our aircraft and they arrived on scene at 5.26pm. Our team worked alongside the North West Ambulance Service to assess and treat a patient and they accompanied the patient to hospital in a land ambulance.

GNAAS needs to raise £8.5m a year to remain operational. To find out more about how you can support the charity visit: gna.as/fund247

About GNAAS

• The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is a charitably funded air ambulance service which provides life-saving care throughout the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Isle of Man.
  
• They operate two helicopters 365 days a year and also operate a night-time service in the North East and Cumbria on rapid response vehicles.
  
  
• The aircraft cover an area of more than 8,000 square miles and on board are specialist doctors and paramedics who effectively bring the hospital to the patient.
  
  
• The level of skill and expertise of the on-board team mean they respond to the most critically ill and injured people, giving them the best chance of survival.
  
  
• GNAAS is a progressive organisation which has pioneered pre-hospital care in the region.
  
• The latest techniques, equipment and drugs are constantly being evaluated to ensure the charity can provide the best care possible for their patients.
  
  
• 2022 marked the service providing 20 years of life-saving care. Throughout this time, they have responded to more than 23,500 incidents across the region, with road traffic collisions being the most frequent type of incident responded to by the team.
  
  
• They do not receive Government funding and must therefore raise £8.5m a year through public donations to remain operational.

For more information visit: https://www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/ or follow @gnairambulance on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok