Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance has reached a significant milestone after responding to its 1,000th emergency mission of 2026, with crews now benefiting from faster response times thanks to the charity’s new £13million base near Southampton Airport.
Since taking to the skies for the first time in 2007, the life-saving service has attended more than 23,000 incidents across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Cardiac arrests, road traffic collisions and serious medical emergencies remain the most common callouts for the charity’s doctors, pilots, dispatchers and paramedics.
Operating from its recently opened purpose-built airbase at Southampton Airport, the service says it can now reach almost every patient in the region within 10 minutes of take-off.
Island Echo previously reported on the official opening of the new facility, which replaced the charity’s former base at Thruxton. Medical Director Dr Chris Hill said at the time that the move had already led to a noticeable improvement in response times to the Isle of Wight, with crews now able to reach anywhere on the Island within 5 to 10 minutes.
The £13million project saw £9.2million drawn from reserves, with a further £3.6million raised through the Operation Airbase appeal.
The helicopter emergency medical service provides hospital-level care at the roadside or in patients’ homes, carrying out specialist procedures including blood transfusions, open chest surgery and amputations.
Almost 10% of patients attended by the service this year have required a pre-hospital emergency anaesthetic, placing them into an induced coma before arrival at hospital to protect vital organs and allow crews to take over breathing.
Richard Corbett has said:
“Milestones such as these serve as a stark reminder that behind every deployment, take-off and medical intervention, there are patients facing the worst moments of their lives – with their friends and family members anxiously waiting for a positive outcome.
“As a charity funded entirely by members of the public, we are indebted to our remarkable supporters who go above and beyond to keep their air ambulance flying and saving lives.”
The helicopter is typically operational between 07:00 and 02:00 each day and is staffed by a pilot and 2 highly trained medics, usually a doctor and an advanced paramedic with critical care cars being crewed by 2 advanced paramedics.
Each mission costs an average of £3,500, with the charity relying entirely on donations to maintain its operations.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is the charity that delivers an advanced Critical Care Team to sick and injured people in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight when they need it most.
Available both day and night, 365 days a year, the Air Ambulance Critical Care Team is called out an average of seven times a day to attend road traffic collisions, sporting accidents, collapses and many other incidents.
Donate today to help make their next mission possible.
