Busiest year to date for lifesaving Derbyshire service

A lifesaving service has had its busiest year yet after launching a nighttime service.
The Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance lands at an incident at Mam TorThe Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance lands at an incident at Mam Tor
The Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance lands at an incident at Mam Tor

Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance has had its busiest year yet following the introduction of their night car service.

The air ambulance service went to 1,926 missions in total – around five missions every single day.

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Of those missions, 1,026 were carried out by the helicopter during the day shift, while 837 were carried out on the service’s new night service, which runs between the hours of 4pm and 2am.

The remaining missions were made up of car missions during the day, which are usually carried out when an incident is very close or when inclement weather prevents the helicopter from flying.

The night car started running seven days a week in May last year, following a successful trial period.

The car carries all the lifesaving equipment used on the helicopter including a defibrillator, cardiac monitor, a ventilator and an automated CPR device. On-board doctors and critical care paramedics also have access to critical care drugs and equipment usually available only in hospital emergency departments.

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The night car service takes over from the air ambulance when darkness falls; and operates until around 2am, 365 days per year.

Head of operations Philip Bridle said: “We are extremely proud that our critical care cars have been such a success. Thanks to the excellent road networks around our area and less traffic to contend with at night, our cars are able to get to accidents and emergencies very quickly, just as our aircraft does during the day. This means our critical care paramedics and doctors are available for the most serious incidents at night as well as during the day.”

To donate visit www.wndlrairambulance.org.uk/2017