July was the busiest month on record for Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA), with crews responding to 274 emergency incidents across the region.
The charity’s doctors, paramedics, dispatchers and pilots operate 365 days a year to attend critically ill and injured patients throughout Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Throughout July, the air ambulance was most frequently deployed to Basingstoke, Fareham, Newport, Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester. The total number of call-outs marked a 10% increase compared to July 2024 – the previous record holder.
There has also been a year-on-year rise of almost 100 additional emergency responses, with significant increases in call-outs for:
- Road traffic collisions (211)
- Cardiac arrests (257)
- Assaults (64)
August is also proving to be a busy month… So far this week, HIOWAA has responded to incidents in Whiteley Bank, Lake and East Cowes.
Richard Corbett, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance CEO, has said:
“I am immensely proud of the response from our crew members, charity team and army of volunteers who continuously rise to the challenge.
“Not forgetting the enormous role everyone who has supported us plays.”
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The charity is currently raising funds for its £3.6million Operation Airbase appeal. The project aims to relocate its airbase and headquarters to a new location near Southampton Airport – a move expected to dramatically improve response times across the region.
Richard added:
“As we continually respond to more and more patients, it is increasingly important that we are in the right place geographically to improve response times and get our highly skilled crew members on scene as quickly as possible.”
More information about the appeal can be found at www.hiowaa.org.
It is clear from the figures that road safety needs
improving.
Councils seem to think that placing 20mph
signs etc, motorists will respect the signs,
they don’t!
Take Brading and Godshill High Streets as an example.
Speeding is rife!
Time for decent speed cameras and heavy fines.