The EAAA provides life-saving care to thousands of people in the region every single year. As part of our series shining a light on local charties, we found out more about its vital work
East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is a helicopter emergency medical service covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. Since its launch in 2000, the organisation has been dispatched to over 25,000 life-saving missions.
The air ambulance provides expert emergency medical care to those that have been involved in life-threatening and life-changing incidents.
The charity receives no regular government funding, and relies almost entirely on public support to keeps its two helicopters flying and saving lives across East Anglia.
In February, the charity announced its plan to become a 24/7 helicopter service by the end of 2020; the first in the East of England to do so.
Currently there is a seven hour gap, from midnight to 7am, in the East of England where no helicopter coverage is available if needed. Research shows that there is a significant night-time need for critical care by air ambulance.
By flying around the clock, the charity estimates it could be dispatched to up to 600 more missions a year, saving hundreds more lives.
In order to develop and deliver the service 24 hours a day by helicopter, it needs to raise an additional £1 million each year on top of the £12 million it's already required to find.
EAAA attends nearly 3,000 missions a year across East Anglia and can be tasked to assist the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) with any type of medical emergency or trauma which might require advanced medical care, equipment or a quick transfer to the most appropriate hospital.
This community-funded service has two helicopters operating in the region, each flying a highly-skilled doctor and a critical care paramedic anywhere in East Anglia within 25 minutes.
The Anglia One helicopter flies from Norwich and the Anglia Two helicopter flies from Cambridge.
Not only are the helicopters vital in getting help to emergencies quickly, providing expert care on scene, but they can also transfer patients to the most appropriate hospital for their needs much faster than a road ambulance in a time-critical situation. For more information, see www.mission247.co.uk or text 'HELI 20' to 70085 to donate £20.
Get involved: Sunday 8 September
24 mile trek - West Runton to Holkham Hall.
24 kilometre trek - Cley to Holkham Hall.
Trek 24 is EAAA's newest fundraising event in support of Mission 24/7 - to become a 24/7 air ambulance service. EAAA supporters will be taking over the north Norfolk coastline for this hugely popular new walking challenge in September and there is still plenty of time to sign up. Tickets are £35 for the 24mile trek with £250 sponsorship or £30 for the 24K trek with £200 sponsorship.
Parking and registration for both events will take place at Holkham Hall, with coaches provided to take participants from Holkham Hall to the start of their chosen route. Along the way there will be several 'uplift stations' for refreshments and there will be a hot meal and a drink ready at the finish line.
To sign up, go to: www.trek-24.co.uk
Are you first aid trained?
You might be surprised to learn that we now attend more cardiac arrests than any other type of emergency. A cardiac arrest is different to a heart attack and can be triggered by a medical reason or a trauma, and both can affect anyone of any age. In these scenarios, CPR and a defibrillator can make a huge difference to a person's survival before the emergency services arrive.
This is why we're committed to increasing the number of people in the region who are first aid trained to help us save lives. We offer free one-hour community basic life support training for adults and for schools. We're also running Crucial Crew sessions, where our paramedics teach basic CPR and first aid skills to children. So far this year we have trained over 700 adults and almost 3,000 school children. To find out what training opportunities we have coming up in your area, please go to our website: www.eaaa.org.uk
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