MP calling for air ambulance cash

Air ambulances in the east fly four times a day on average

An MP is calling for government support for air ambulances in the east because the poor road network is delaying patients reaching hospital.

Five helicopters cover Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Funding for the helicopter service comes from public supported charities.

Norwich North MP Ian Gibson wants the government to make a contribution and is supporting a funding campaign.

He said: "Moving people by air is going to become more frequent and is certainly more effective for the health service so the government must provide money for it.

"We can't just continue to rely on the good nature of people. The government is going to have to find new ways of getting money into the service."

Critical minutes

An air ambulance costs about £1.57 every second it flies according to the charities supporting the network in the east where each helicopter is called out on average four times a day.

Simon Gray, of the East Anglian Air Ambulance Service which covers the largest area of five counties, said: "We have a very poor road system and in these conditions a helicopter is going to be essential to move sick and injured people around.

"We have big distances to move patients to accident and emergency centres and it is going to become paramount for them to reach specialist hospitals quickly."

The minutes after an accident are also regarded as critical.

John Stone, an air ambulance paramedic, said: "A helicopter has the ability to fly patients to the hospital where they are going to get the most appropriate treatment.

"it may not be the nearest, but it will be to definitive care in what is classically called the 'golden hour' when treatment is most effective and helps give patients their best chance of recovery."