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18 October 2022

Air Ambulances from the UK

It is estimated an air ambulance takes off every 10 minutes from somewhere in Britain. Air ambulances from the UK are either helicopters, which attend to accidents and emergencies within the British Isles, or fixed-wing (“Air Wing”) planes which can fly further afield.

Most areas of Britain have an air ambulance service, the majority of them helicopters controlled by commercial firms and funded by charitable trusts. In total, there are 18 air ambulance charities in England and Wales, with 30 helicopters owned or under lease from commercial companies. In addition, some air ambulances from the UK are fixed wing aircraft, owned and run by private companies such as us at IAS Medical. The Scottish Ambulance Service is the only government funded air ambulance service in the UK, with both rotary and fixed wing aircraft.

As well as providing a private patient transfer service both nationally and abroad, our air ambulances from the UK offer a vital service to NHS surgical teams. For example, we offer high quality, rapid response solutions for the transport of specialist surgical teams, conveying them to NHS, UKTFT (UK Transport for Transplant) and specialist PCT hospitals, plus dedicated organ transplant units, both here and abroad. We are one of the few companies to offer NHS Approved transplant flights on our air ambulances, from UK airports in all areas.

When you are transporting organs for transplant, you need an aviation service you can trust. At IAS Medical, we are approved for UKTFT and NHSBT (NHS Blood and Transport) transportation, with many years’ experience transferring organs, blood and tissue to British, European and international destinations. We also offer specialist transport for NHS transplant patients, and others who are critically ill. Yet another service we offer is the repatriation of multiple casualties from military zones. We also repatriate foreign nationals taken ill in this country.

When we at IAS Medical take off in our air ambulances from the UK, every day is different.