Volunteer responders at RAF Marham have taken delivery of two ambulances to enable them to help the East of England Ambulance Trust.

The trust approached military co-response schemes to support the NHS with the current increase in demand from Covid-19.

It has now supplied four of the double-staffed ambulances to military teams across the region. RAF Marham personnel have been assisting the ambulance trust for 19 years, during which the team has seen considerable change and expansion both in size and with the skills used.

MORE - 100 patients discharged from Norfolk hospital after recovering from Covid-19Before receiving the ambulances, which they will run alongside their rapid response car, they received intensive additional training in airway management, enhanced clinical equipment and driver training.

The new vehicles will enable the Marham team to attend emergency calls, assess patients and transport them to hospital.

The RAF Marham team consists of around 15 personnel with a variety of day jobs at the base from supply logistics, RAF Regiment and police, ground and air technicians and IT staff.

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The longest serving member of the team has seen it grow from a small team, with a small car, that responded to a select range of life-threatening calls and cardiac arrests, to today where they now have the ability to respond to all types of emergencies.

RAF Marham commander Group Capt James Beck, said: “I am very proud of what the team have done to support the NHS over the past two decades and this latest expansion with the new training and provision of two ambulances proves how valuable our volunteers are, and continue to be, to our local community.”

Alex Laurent, community response manager with the ambulance trust, said: “The RAF co-responders are a vital asset to the East of England Ambulance Service. They have provided vital support manning double staffed ambulances and their rapid response vehicles during this Covid-19 pandemic.

“The support they bring to the communities is outstanding as they all promote excellent patient care. The trust is really proud to have the RAF co-responders on board during this challenging time.”