Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance
Encyclopedia
The Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance is an air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....

 based at RAF Waddington
RAF Waddington
RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England.-Formation:Waddington opened as a Royal Flying Corps flying training station in 1916 until 1920, when the station went into care and maintenance....

 that covers the administrative counties of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

 and Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

 and the unitary authorities of Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

, North East Lincolnshire
North East Lincolnshire
North East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, bordering the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire and the administrative county of Lincolnshire...

 and North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....

. It is one of eighteen such services in England and Wales.

History

A group of consultants at the Pilgrim Hospital
Pilgrim Hospital
Pilgrim Hospital is a large hospital in the east of Lincolnshire on the A16, north of the town of Boston near the mini-roundabout with the A52. It is virtually on the Greenwich Meridian and adjacent to the Boston High School...

 proposed a helicopter service to ferry seriously ill patients to specialist units at other hospitals, so avoiding the transit times associated with Lincolnshire's road system.

The Lincolnshire Air Ambulance was formed at RAF Waddington in April 1994. Due to the proximity of RAF Waddington to Nottinghamshire, it was soon extended to Nottinghamshire in 1997.

The charitable trust was formed on 9 February 1993. Peter Aldrick, the chief executive, became the first chairman of the Association of Air Ambulances.

Operational service

It has close co-operation (although not financial) with the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) who request assistance if a patient requires urgent medical treatment and transfer to a hospital Emergency Department
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...

.

Other air ambulances in the Midlands are straddled over several counties; Lincolnshire is the largest administrative county in central England, and the reason why the air ambulance is much needed because of distances between hospitals via sub-standard capacity roads in the east of the county. More seriously injured patients would be ferried to the Queen's Medical Centre
Queen's Medical Centre
The Queen's Medical Centre situated in Nottingham, England, is the largest hospital in the United Kingdom, and the largest teaching hospital in Europe.-History:...

 in Nottingham.

Structure

The main office is in Bracebridge Heath
Bracebridge Heath
Bracebridge Heath is a commuter village approximately south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. It lies at the junction of two major roads the A15 to Sleaford and the A607 to Grantham, and was part of the Boothby Graffoe Wapentake...

, south of Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....

, and close to the helicopter base. It has a satellite office in Nottingham on the A612
A612 road
The A612 road is an A-class road in the United Kingdom running between Nottingham and Averham, on the A617 near Newark.It starts in central Nottingham at a junction with the A60. Initially running east, as Pennyfoot Street, before a right turn sees it head southwards onto Manvers Street, a 4 lane...

 near Nottingham Racecourse
Nottingham Racecourse
Nottingham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated at Colwick Park, close to the River Trent and about 3 km east of the city centre....

.

It has charity shops in Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...

, Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

, Market Rasen
Market Rasen
Market Rasen is a town and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the River Rase northeast of Lincoln, east of Gainsborough and southwest of Grimsby. According to the 2001 census, it has a population of 3,200....

, North Hykeham
North Hykeham
North Hykeham is administratively a town immediately south of Lincoln, in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Geographically it is part of the greater Lincoln urban sprawl, and comprises 4,915 dwellings...

, Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....

, and Mansfield Woodhouse
Mansfield Woodhouse
Mansfield Woodhouse is a large village about 2 kilometres north of Mansfield itself, in Nottinghamshire, England. With a history dating back before the Romans, it is still noteworthy for its stone built town centre...

. It often gets funding from Rotary clubs.

Fleet

In November 2010 the service took delivery of a brand new MD902 Explorer
MD Helicopters MD Explorer
|-See also:-References:* Jackson, Paul. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2003–2004. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 2003. ISBN 0 7106 2537 5.-External links:* *...

, capable of flying for longer, faster and fully equipped for night operations. The aircraft retains the yellow colour scheme worn by its predecessor, but has the registration of G-LNCT, after the Charitable Trust.

G-LNAA the helicopter operated by the service between 2000 and 2010 was returned to Specialist Aviation Services at Staverton
Staverton, Gloucestershire
Staverton is a village between the city of Gloucester and the town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England, in the borough of Tewkesbury.It is the location of Gloucestershire Airport, which was previously called Staverton Airport and RAF Staverton. It is the home of the Dowty Rotol and...

 (Gloucestershire Airport
Gloucestershire Airport
Gloucestershire Airport , formerly Staverton Airport, is located at Staverton, in the Borough of Tewkesbury within Gloucestershire, England. It lies west of Cheltenham, near the city of Gloucester and close to the M5 motorway. According to the sign at the airport's entrance it is Gloucestershire's...

), where was overhauled, before being used as the fleet spare for SAS's medical operations. The original helicopter used by the service was a MBB Bo 105, G-PASC, this helicopter serving between 1994 to 2000.

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