Midlands Air Ambulance

The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC), formerly County Air Ambulance, is a charity operating a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. It operates three aircraft.

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity
AbbreviationMAAC
Formation1990
TypeCharity
Location
Region
The Midlands and part of the South West
Key people
Hanna Sebright - CEO
Revenue (2020)
£14.6 million[1]
Staff (2020)
49[1]
Volunteers (2020)
220[1]
Websitewww.midlandsairambulance.com
Eurocopter EC 135 G-HWAA based at Strensham

History

The Midlands Air Ambulance was first registered as a charity in 1990, and started using the County Air Ambulance name in 1993. The role of the charity is the provision of HEMS in the Midland counties of England.[1][2] It also provides secondary support to neighbouring counties. It responds to 2,000 potentially life saving missions every year.[3]

At launch, the charity operated a single helicopter based at Halfpenny Green Airport and, at its peak, had grown to operating three aircraft covering 8,000 square miles (21,000 km2) across 12 counties of England and Wales.[1] The reduction in areas covered began in 2006 and was largely due to other air ambulance charities setting up or expanding and to consolidation of West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) assets in the WMAS areas of responsibility. The operating name was changed back to Midlands Air Ambulance in 2009 to reflect the smaller area covered.[2] Until 31 March 2008, the charity also served the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) area, based at East Midlands Airport, but, after some political wrangling between WMAS and EMAS, the aircraft was withdrawn and redeployed into Tatenhill, Staffordshire.

On 3 April 2014, MAAC introduced its first wholly owned Eurocopter EC135 helicopter (registration G-OMAA), which replaced one of the three leased aircraft.

In September 2015, three MAAC team members were honoured with a Pride of Britain Award following their response to a collision on The Smiler ride at Alton Towers.[4]

In November 2017, doctors began working all shifts from all three airbases,[5] working alongside a paramedic and pilot. Previously, only RAF Cosford had a doctor on-duty on a daily basis,[5] leaving the other two bases with dual paramedic coverage.

On 20 February 2018, MAAC received a brand new Airbus Helicopters H145, the second aircraft owned by the charity. The aircraft was handed over at the Strensham services base,[6] before being transferred to RAF Cosford.

Organisation

The charity is supported by paramedics from WMAS and doctors from their respective NHS trusts. The charity is funded entirely by charitable donations given by companies, organisations, and members of the public. In the year to March 2020, MAAC had an income of £14.6 million, of which £7.4M was spent on providing the air ambulance service.[1]

MAAC should not be confused with the County Air Ambulance Trust, which is a separate registered charity.[7] That charity raises money for the provision of infrastructure items (such as helipads at hospitals) and also make an annual contribution towards a number of air ambulance charities, including the Midlands Air Ambulance.

Coverage

The service covers the counties of Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire (which is also served by the Great Western Air Ambulance) and the West Midlands.[1] It also provides secondary coverage to the surrounding areas.[2]

Helicopters
G-HWAA EC135

As of March 2018, MAAC use two Eurocopter EC135 helicopters and a Airbus Helicopters H145 based at RAF Cosford, Tatenhill Airfield and at Strensham services. Each helicopter is crewed by one pilot, one doctor and one paramedic, and occasionally a second paramedic.

The pilots and helicopter maintenance are provided by Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore, who also lease aircraft G-HWAA to the charity.

Current Fleet[8]
Registration Aircraft Callsign Owner
RAF Cosford G-RMAA Airbus Helicopters H145 Helimed 03 MAAC
Strensham services G-HWAA Eurocopter EC135 T2 Helimed 06 Babcock
Tatenhill Airfield G-OMAA Eurocopter EC135 T2+ Helimed 09 MAAC
Previous Fleet
Registration Aircraft Introduced Retired
G-EMAA Eurocopter EC135 2005 2018
G-WMAA MBB Bo 105 1994 2006
G-WMAS Eurocopter EC135 2001 2014

See also

References
  1. "Charity Overview". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  2. Midlands Air Ambulance Charity Trustees Report and Annual Accounts 2007/2008
  3. Andrews, Mark (13 May 2016). "Keeping the air ambulance flying". Shropshire Star (15759). p. 8.
  4. "Alton Towers crash medics win Pride of Britain Award". Dial2Donate. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  5. "Midlands Air Ambulance Charity on Instagram: "It now costs £9 million every year to operate the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. Here are a few reasons why...find out how you can help at…"". Instagram. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  6. "H145 Handed Over to Midlands Air Ambulance". Helis.com. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  7. The County Air Ambulance Trust Annual Reports & Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2007
  8. "Midlands Air Ambulance Charity | Saving Lives by Saving Time". www.midlandsairambulance.com. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
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