Great North Air Ambulance Service

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), which has bases in Eaglescliffe in the North East and at Langwathby, near Penrith in the North West will continue its life-saving work on the Isle of Man after Manx Care extended its contract for a further year.

The health board and GNAAS began working together last year, as part of a trial to deliver a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the Island following a recommendation in the Sir Jonathan Michael Report, which was an independent review of the Isle of Man health and social care system.

The direct transfer of patients to trauma or other specialist centres in England ensures those who need it, receive treatment in the shortest time possible.

GNAAS’ critical care team consists of a doctor and a specialist advanced trauma paramedic who can perform complex critical care procedures, usually only carried out in an operating theatre, at the scene of an incident.

These procedures include pre-hospital anaesthesia, blood transfusions and advanced surgery.

Since the partnership began, GNAAS has responded by helicopter 24 times with 13 patients being transferred, most to specialist hospitals in the UK. GNAAS' services cost £7.7 million per year to run, covering the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man. It has been requested to continue serving the Island and currently has funding in place until April 2024. It hopes to continue responding to incidents for many years to come and to ensure this is possible it needs the support of the community.

David Stockton, chief executive of Great North Air Ambulance Service said: “We are proud to be working with Manx Care to provide our pioneering pre-hospital care to people on the beautiful Isle of Man. Working alongside the ambulance service on the island has been incredibly rewarding.

“We have needed to adapt our helicopters to fly over the sea and provide extensive training for our crews.

“The initial trial has been extended until April 2024 after which we very much hope to continue serving the Isle of Man, with the support of its people and businesses to ensure funding is in place.”

ENDS

NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF GREAT NORTH AIR AMBULANCE SERVICE

CONTACT: Caroline Walker on 01325 363436

Notes to editors:

Great North Air Ambulance Service provides air ambulance services across the North-East, Cumbria and North Yorkshire. Working with the NHS and fellow emergency services, GNAAS has become an important part of the region’s major incident response. Annually it costs £7.7m to provide the services which are not NHS-funded.