Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire air ambulance sees busiest ever year

In one weekend in June, LNAA crews saw 19 patients, providing anaesthetics, blood transfusions and surgical interventions

Air ambulance crews serving Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire had their busiest ever year in 2022, the charity running the service says.

Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance (LNAA) flew around 1,620 missions last year.

A total of 1,003 incidents took place in Lincolnshire and 441 in Nottinghamshire, while the rest saw crews attending incidents elsewhere.

LNAA chief executive Karen Jobling said 2023 was likely to be "even busier".

The charity said in the last 12 months its crews, who respond to incidents from 07:00 to 02:00, attended 130 more incidents than in 2021.

According to the charity, it was the only air ambulance service in the East Midlands operating after dark, and 602 of its call-outs in 2022 were night flights.

LNAA added that its crews had taken patients to hospitals including Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre, Hull Royal Infirmary, Lincoln County Hospital and Sheffield Northern General Hospital.

Ms Jobling said: "All this is only possible with the support from the communities and organisations in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, as we receive no direct funding from the government.

"Last year, we needed £8m to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we know with increased costs and increased demand this cost will increase in 2023."

Ms Jobling added that 2022 had "certainly been busy for the charity as a whole and we anticipate being even busier in 2023".