It was a busy year for Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) as they responded to no less than 110 emergency call outs on the Isle of Wight in 2021.
The charity responded to more than 1,570 incidents altogether last year, meaning around 7% of their missions were to the Island – predominately to the helipad at St Mary’s Hospital.
July was the busiest months for the helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) team with 16 patients cared for in the summer month alone. The busiest month overall for the air ambulance was December with 148 incidents responded to, of which 8 were on the Island. The last ‘in the field’ landing for the yellow and green chopper was at Simeon Street, Ryde on 8th December.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance responds to a variety of medical emergencies but cardiac arrests remain the primary reason for scrambling the helicopter (31%), followed by other medical emergencies such as strokes (17%), road traffic collisions (15%) and falls from height (14%).
Of the 1,570 incidents responded to, 56% were carried out in the helicopter and 44% were by road in the 3 Rapid Response Vehicles.
On average, HIOWAA responds to 4 incidents a day.
Richard Corbett, HIOWAA’s CEO, has said:
“As with all front line and health services, 2021 was immensely challenging. But for our patients and their families, it was potentially life changing. We are so grateful to all of our supporters for allowing us to be there for the 1,570 people who needed our help last year.
“Their kindness and generosity means the most critically ill and injured patients in our region have the very best chance of survival. But we can only continue this work with each and every one of them by our side.”
This year is set to be another significant year for the charity, which celebrates its 15th anniversary in July.
