As part of our drive to support local charities, each week we are highlighting the vital work a charity does and the difference they make to the lives of people in our communities.
This weekend we've heard from the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) about how they save lives and how they were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The impact of COVID-19 and where the charity goes in 2022
EAAA is a helicopter emergency medical service providing expert critical care at the scene to patients who’ve suffered life-threatening injuries or medical emergencies. Think of it as bringing A&E to the patient, so they can receive treatment straight away.
Over the last two years, the pandemic has brought many challenges, but here at EAAA we’re very proud and thankful that we have been able to adapt and keep our crews operational. We have the support of a wonderful community and we’re grateful to each and every one of them!
At the start of the pandemic, we found it difficult to get the PPE we needed, and our team had to work hard to source supplies. Our medical teams reviewed all our procedures and trained our crews on how to operate safely in PPE. Some of our doctors and our aftercare nurses went back to work in the NHS full-time.
We helped the NHS with transport between intensive care units during the peak of the pandemic. These transfers often took a long time and were very challenging – our crews were working in full PPE, treating a very sick person with a disease they had never encountered before. But we were proud to help when needed.
Looking forward to 2022, we’re launching a refreshed five-year strategy in the summer. We’ll focus on improving patient outcomes, for example through a community CPR training programme to help increase cardiac survival rates. We also want to develop awareness of our work and look at how we can maintain secure and sustainable funding. Another important priority is nurturing and managing our incredible team. We need to do all of this in the most cost-effective way, without compromising on service.
We understand the value of data and insight into pre-hospital medicine – it’s vital in developing the care that we provide. Our research team, known as RAID, aims to ensure that pre-hospital clinical practice across the wider UK ambulance network continues to get even better. We held the first RAID conference in 2021, with 450 people signed up, and we plan to hold more in the future
About the charity - what it is and who it helps and why?
EAAA saves lives and gives hope to loved ones in their darkest hour. From their Norwich and Cambridge bases, highly-skilled crews cover the region 24/7, 365 days a year. The charity has two helicopters and four rapid response vehicles filled with state-of-the-art medical equipment, ready to carry out life-saving interventions before a patient arrives at the hospital.
The team averages eight missions a day, treating over 1,700 patients annually, and every one of them is a medical emergency. It costs a significant sum of £15m a year to keep the service running and developing further, but the charity receives no regular government funding, so it’s thanks to their supporters who keep EAAA on the road and in the air.
Patients like Richard are enormously grateful for this support. Driving to work one day, along with his son, Richard was involved in a collision with a speeding lorry. His son suffered a nasty broken leg, but Richard sustained life-threatening injuries, including a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, two neck fractures, multiple broken ribs, punctured lungs, a ruptured spleen and a tear to the lining of his aorta.
The quick arrival of the helicopter and the superior equipment on board meant the doctors were able to start treatment while in the air on the way to hospital, operating on Richard in transit. “I can honestly say that East Anglian Air Ambulance saved my life. If they hadn’t come to my rescue, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Like many EAAA patients, Richard made a full recovery and has since returned to work. He has also benefitted from EAAA’s aftercare service, meeting the medics and pilots who saved his life on that day and being able to say thank you in person.
The charity’s aftercare team offer patients emotional support, explain the interventions they received from EAAA and can also signpost patients to other services and support organisations, including legal advice, where needed. This post trauma service continues the life-changing work that is started by the doctors and paramedics in our helicopters and rapid response vehicles.
Find out more and become a supporter at www.eaaa.org.uk
Support EAAA with Trek 24
Help save lives by completing one of our 24 mile or 24 km treks across some of the most beautiful parts of Norfolk.
We’ll support you and cheer you on from start to finish, helping to set up your Just Giving page, providing printable sponsorship forms and supplying fundraising resources.
On the day, we’ll provide food, parking, an exclusive t-shirt and a celebration drink, plus a medal to commemorate your achievement.
Follow the historic Wherryman’s Way from Reedham and along the River Yare, past picturesque villages, beautiful waterways and nature reserves to Whitlingham Country Park, with our Norfolk Broads Trek.
Or explore the stunning North Norfolk coast, passing through glorious beaches, taking in clifftop views and travelling through nature reserves on your way to Holkham.
Sign up for one of these Trek 24 challenges and help keep our helicopters flying and our crews saving lives! www.eaaa.org.uk/trek24
Registered charity number: 1083876
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