London’s Air Ambulance is the charity that provides an advanced trauma team to the 10 million people who live, work and travel in the capital city. The service delivers a senior doctor and paramedic team to critically injured patients, taking the hospital emergency department direct to the roadside. It delivers rapid response, cutting edge care in time critical situations.
London’s Air Ambulance was established in 1989 in response to a report by The Royal College of Surgeons, which documented unnecessary deaths from trauma and criticised the care that seriously injured patients received in the UK. The founders saw a way to save more lives by reaching and treating the critically-injured more quickly.
In the 29 years since its inception, it has attended most high profile incidents in London, including the Potters Bar rail crash, the terror attacks on 7/7 and the 2017 major incidents at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Grenfell Tower. The service is globally renowned for its innovative procedures and has seen a number of firsts, including being the first air ambulance to carry a doctor on board, the first service in the world to perform open heart surgery at the roadside and the first to carry blood on board. Over 29 years it has treated over 39,000 patients.
In 2016, London’s Air Ambulance launched their lottery. To this day, the lottery remains the biggest source of income for the charity and has generated over £6m in life-saving funds, an amount that continues to grow rapidly year-on-year.
In 2019 the charity will celebrate its 30th anniversary of saving lives in London.
