Air ambulance logs 20,000 emergency calls

Thames Valley Air Ambulance became an independent healthcare provider in 2018

Thames Valley Air Ambulance (TVAA) has logged its 20,000th emergency call out since it became an independent healthcare provider.

The charity, which brings critical emergency care to the most severely ill and injured patients, is called out an average of nine times a day.

Set up in 1999, TVAA became a healthcare provider in its own right in 2018, allowing it to crew its aircraft with its own medical staff.

Adam Panter, chief operating officer, said reaching 20,000 call outs was a "milestone" for the charity.

"We receive no government or NHS funding. So, every single mission we attend is powered by you, the community," he said.

"It's thanks to you we've been able to load our kit bags and start our engines an amazing 20,000 times since 2018, bringing critical care directly to the patient."

The figure of 20,000 call outs included its critical care paramedic and doctor crews treating nearly 1,500 children since 2018.

Based at RAF Benson, the TVAA helicopter can reach anywhere in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire or Oxfordshire within 15 minutes.

The move to an independent healthcare provider in 2018 allowed it to expand its coverage and opened the service to regulation by the Care Quality Commission.

In 2022 TVAA became the sixth air ambulance service to gain an Air Operator Certificate, giving it direct responsibility for its aircraft, legal requirements, safety and scheduling.