Our History
East Anglian Air Ambulance has achieved some fantastic milestones over the past twenty years, none of which would have been possible without our supporters. Thank you
Following an urgent fundraising appeal in May, EAAA is now able to permanently carry packed red blood cells and freeze-dried plasma on every mission. Blood transfusions ensure that the most gravely injured patients suffering a major bleed have the best chance of getting to hospital through increasing oxygen delivery and clot production.
EAAA’s Blood on Board project has involved raising in excess of £90,000 and essential partnership working between two of the region’s hospitals, Addenbrooke’s and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), and two volunteer-driven blood biker charities, SERV Suffolk and Cambridgeshire and Norfolk Blood Bikes, to ensure a high-quality, daily supply of red blood cells to each of the EAAA operational bases.
As a participant of the national clinical blood trial RePhill, EAAA developed some experience in setting up the red blood cell supply chain to its bases and delivering these treatments over the past few years, however the trial, which was fully-funded, ended in December 2020. Since then, EAAA has been busy putting everything in place, including raising the vital funds required, to make these treatments a permanent part of the service for the first time.
Previously EAAA’s Director of Operations, 1 July marks Matthew Jones' first day as CEO following the retirement Patrick Peal after seven years as CEO.
Matthew Jones said: “It’s a huge honour to be offered the opportunity to lead this fantastic organisation into the future and I will do my very best to carry on the remarkable work that Patrick has started. Patrick has been an enormous part of getting this charity to where it is today and it is extremely humbling to be entrusted with this role. My first focus will be on implementing 24/7 operations from our new base in Norwich, a long-term goal of the charity’s which will make a huge difference to the type of service we’re able to provide at night.”
On 30 June 2021 EAAA starting flying 24/7, becoming the first air ambulance in the East of England to do so. EAAA had been flying up until 1:30am however there was a five-and-a-half-hour gap until 7am where there was no helicopter emergency medical service cover available in the region.
Thanks to the continued support of the community, EAAA is now able to deliver the same standard or critical care, by air and by road, across East Anglia 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. On the first 12-hour helicopter night shift the team was called out to two road traffic collisions, one in Essex and one in Suffolk, that they would not previously have been able to attend by air.
East Anglian Air Ambulance has been awarded the top spot in this year’s Best Companies list for the Charity Sector for its exceptional employee engagement and support during the pandemic. The charity has also been recognised as the 6th Best Company to Work For in the East of England in the 2021 listings and 14th in the Top 100 Mid-Sized Companies to Work For in the UK (for private companies and not-for-profits).
These national awards are based on the results of an employee feedback and engagement survey which feeds into regional, national and sector league tables. These fantastic results recognise the charity’s long-standing commitment to creating a fantastic place of work to support the life-saving organisation’s number one priority: delivering an excellent service for its patients. And that the organisation went above and beyond during the pandemic to support its staff, keep people connected and promote well-being.
Funded through generous gifts in Wills, the £7 million development will enable the charity to finally have the training, rest and welfare facilities required for a fully 24/7 helicopter operation. Called Helimed House, the new Norwich HQ will also provide enough office space to house all Norwich-based staff under one roof for the first time, as well as a community hub and enhanced training and events facilities.
EAAA CEO, Patrick Peal, announced in April that he will be retiring from the charity in June after seven years in the role. Patrick played an integral part in setting up the life-saving charity just over 20 years ago, led the charity as a former Trustee for some eleven years and has been the charity’s CEO since 2014. In that time, the charity has undergone a huge transformation and growth period in terms of fundraising income, operational achievements and becoming a top-rated local employer.
During Patrick Peal’s tenure, the service has expanded to cover 24 hours a day every day of the year. To date, this has involved flying by day and by night, with the middle of the night covered by rapid response vehicles. His final act at EAAA in the summer will be extending the flying service 24/7.
A major focus for his work has been the creation and nurturing of a fantastic team. From the frontline teams to the ground staff, everyone plays an important part in the charity’s mission and future. EAAA was named Best Employer in the Norfolk Business Awards in November and has been ranked in the top ten not-for-profit companies to work for by the Sunday Times.
A key enabler for the medical operation and for the performance of the charity has been the creation of new operational bases at Cambridge Airport and Norwich Airport; the latter – which includes the EAAA headquarters - completed this year. The EAAA service has also been extended to include an aftercare service for patients, first aid training for the public, and operational research.
All of this has been done with the financial support of the communities and businesses in Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
20 years ago, on 6 September 2000, a new charity was formed to help save lives across East Anglia: the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA). Over the last 20 years we have flown almost 30,000 missions and helped almost 20,000 patients, all thanks to the generosity of our local region.
Doctor Victor Inyang is a well-known Emergency Medicine Consultant in the region who has been flying with EAAA for 16 years. Victor stepped into this role during the Covid-19 pandemic and has been at the heart of leading the charity’s clinical work during the biggest medical crisis of our generation.
As Medical Director Victor will lead on all clinical matters, with the priority always to put the patient first and focus on evidence-based medicine. In line with the charity’s strategy, he will look for ways to reduce the impact of trauma and medical emergency in the community, such as increasing EAAA’s ability to provide good quality CPR training to help increase patient survival rates from a cardiac arrest. He will also steer the charity through the transition to providing a 24/7 helicopter emergency medical service for the first time, enabling the medical teams to be there for even more patients.
Victor has taken over as Medical Director from Mr Alastair Wilson, who has retired from EAAA after six years as Medical Director and an illustrious career in emergency medicine.
As hospitals in the region reached capacity treating Covid-19 patients during the peak of the pandemic, EAAA were able to support the NHS. Its doctor and critical care paramedic teams adapted their normal HEMS roles to provide critical care transfers to assist the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) in moving Covid-19 patients between hospitals, to ease the pressure on intensive care units.
The EAAA clinical teams had the specialist skills, equipment and extensive experience to look after ventilated Covid-19 patients outside hospital and were proud to be able to help in this way. The charity utilised its Cambridge-based helicopter to fly the medical teams around the region to man dedicated transfer ambulances, to take critically ill Covid-19 patients to hospitals with more intensive care capacity.
EAAA also temporarily adjusted its shift pattern at the Cambridge base so that the night team started earlier to provide more resource during daylight hours to assist with the transfers. The Norwich team was also equipped to support these transfers if required, and between the two bases HEMS missions were still fulfilled.
Inspired by the late air ambulance doctor Dr Carl McQueen, the McQueen Charter is a new initiative which aims to improve mental health and wellbeing in the workplace by helping employers to create safe, positive and open environments where staff feel their mental health is prioritised, able to discuss their mental health and are supported to access help if needed.
Find out more by visiting – www.eaaa.org.uk/mcqueen
Thanks to the arrival of two new Volvo XC90 rapid response vehicles (RRVs), we are now fully 24/7 by RRV from both of our bases, which means our teams can be there for even more of our patients during this difficult time.
In April last year we introduced a doctor to join the single critical care paramedic (CCP) previously responding by RRV at night from Norwich for seven days a week (using a single vehicle 24 hours a day), and have now rolled this out in Cambridge as well and add an extra vehicle at each base.
In January 2020 the works started to transform the hangar and office space and are anticipated to be completed in late 2020. The new base will provide essential rest and welfare facilities for the crew as they operate 24/7 and will future proof the organisation, by creating a space fit to house the Norwich-based charity and operational staff, under one roof, for many years to come.
The new base will also be equipped with a state-of-the-art training room to help the life-saving crews keep up-to-date with their vital training and will create a new community hub. The hub will provide a better area for supporters and patients to interact with the charity, including a dedicated space to deliver essential CPR training to help save more lives out in the community.
On Thursday 14 November Norwich City Council approved the plans for our new Norwich base, which will be a huge a step forward towards our mission to fly 24/7.
EAAA features alongside Great North Air Ambulance and Thames and Valley Air Ambulance to document emergency call outs from June to August of 2019. Over the 11 episodes, Emergency Helicopter Medics will help to raise awareness of the vital role air ambulance charities play in getting the most critically ill or injured patients life-saving treatment in their moment of need and will show several incidents from the region. This is the third series EAAA has featured in the programme, which regularly pulls in more than 500,000 viewers per episode.
The event, which is called Trek 24, was held in North Norfolk and took place on Sunday 8 September during the celebration of National Air Ambulance Week. Group and individual participants had two challenges to choose from; a 24 mile trek or 24k trek.
Our Aftercare team, headed up by Alison Brett, has grown to include three clinical liaison officers, who will be working with EAAA part-time to support patients and their families in different parts of the region.
Our Aftercare service aims to:
- Support patients and their families in understanding their treatment during the incident and providing and explaining complex clinical information to help aid their recovery
- Improve the quality of the aftercare we deliver, including more visits in hospital and the patient’s home
- Organise and host patient base visits to meet the crew who treated them
- Signpost patients and families to local support networks
- Provide patient outcome feedback to EAAA clinicians
Due to Alison’s growing team, we’ve seen a 25% increase in the number of patients who have reached out to us or received aftercare support in 2019 and hope this will continue to increase in line with the growing team.
The Emergency Medical Journal published an EAAA research paper written in March 2019 alongside our colleagues at the Ambulance Trust, entitled; “Prehospital determinants of successful resuscitation after traumatic and nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest”
Authors Dr Ed Barnard, Daniel Sandbach, Tracy Nicholls, Alastair Wilson and Dr Ari Ercole reviewed data gathered between the 1 January 2016 and 31 July 2017 to review the outcomes of over 9,000 patients who had suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Reported survival rates in countries with comparable healthcare systems are higher than the UK and the EAAA team hoped that by reviewing two areas in particular (survival to hospital admission and hospital discharge) it might help us and the Ambulance trust save more lives.
EAAA was awarded almost £800,000 from the Department of Health and Social Care. This funding, for capital projects only, was generated from a one-off £10 million grant made available to air ambulance charities in England in the 2018 Autumn Budget.
The funding of £790,313 will be used to help finance the following capital projects:
- The renovation of the charity’s Norwich Base, to enable its helicopter to fly 24/7
- The purchase of two additional rapid response vehicles, which ensure the charity’s expert crew can access patients night or day, especially in built up areas, where it can be difficult to land the helicopter.
- The purchase of upgraded night-vision goggles to better equip the charity to fly 24/7
- The installation of a new aircraft hangar closer to the Cambridge Base to increase service availability and allow EAAA to reach more patients.
- The installation of an immersive training suite for crew at the new Norwich base to better prepare clinical teams for challenging conditions on-scene.
A record number of brave runners made their way through Elveden’s tough six and 10 mile obstacle course to raise vital funds for our charity. Over 1,800 people took part in the Only The Brave mud obstacle course on Sunday (April 7) at Elveden Estate – a record breaking number - which raised more than £190,000.
Our work towards 24/7 operations began in April 2019 with the introduction of doctors to our night shifts by rapid response vehicle. Our clinical teams saw an increase in taskings, use of doctor-only interventions, an increase in other advanced pre-hospital interventions (such as administering pre-hospital anaesthetic), and a decrease in total scene time.
We have launched our ambitious plan to become a 24/7 helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) provider by 2020. We currently operates 365-days-a-year but not 24-hours-a-day, meaning that if an incident happens between midnight and 07:00 there is currently no HEMS provision in the region. We are aiming to cover this gap and become a full 24/7 HEMS service by 2020. To do that we need to raise an additional £1 million a year to fund the operation.
Read more about the campaign on www.mission247.co.uk
While difficult to celebrate because it means a patient has needed our care, we are delighted to reach this milestone figure, which highlights the vital need for our service.
Jen Easton, our longest standing member of staff, won Charity Staff Member of the Year at the Association of Air Ambulance Awards. Jen has become an inspiration to everyone at East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) since she started working here 15 years ago. She is the backbone of the charity and is a daily reminder to all of us as to why we are here.
On the 25th October, one of EAAA’s founding members Gerry Hermer, received this year’s Sword of Honour from the Honourable Company of Air Pilots. Gerry was instrumental in the initial set up of East Anglian Air Ambulance, but his dedication to the whole aviation industry spanned more than five decades.
EAAA’s first Neon Night Mission event took place on the 13th October 2018. A 5k neon night run with 5 challenges throughout.
Our mission is to save more lives by minimising the impact of trauma and medical emergencies in the future through the delivery of first aid training to workplaces and community organisations across East Anglia.
Our three new CCPs, Page Chamberlain, Liam Sagi and Sam Sweeny have joined both the Norwich and Cambridge base!
The Re-PHILL trial is a nationwide study run by Birmingham University Hospital, which aims to determine whether giving blood in a pre-hospital environment improves patient outcomes in a trauma setting. This is a blind trial where participants (our team at EAAA) will not know what product they are receiving; minimising the risk of bias in testing the treatment.
EAAA are part of a new TV documentary ‘Emergency Helicopter Medics’ that launched April 8th. The series, following EAAA and two other air ambulance service providers, will show ten sixty-minute long episodes each week.
The CQC inspection took place at the charity’s Norwich base on 5th February and the report has now officially been published. With four areas highlighted as outstanding and no areas of improvement, the charity has expressed its utter delight at the findings. Read more by clicking here.
The Re-PHILL trial is a nationwide study run by Birmingham University Hospital, which aims to determine whether giving blood in a pre-hospital environment improves patient outcomes in a trauma setting. This is a blind trial where participants (our team at EAAA) will not know what product they are receiving; minimising the risk of bias in testing the treatment.
“Thank you to my colleagues, team mates and the people of East Anglia who I have been so proud to serve. As part of the team, I have been invited into people’s homes to share moments of extreme emotion, from relief that we have given someone a fighting chance, to profound grief. I have watched as incredibly skilled doctors and paramedics have saved people’s lives. These experiences have instilled in me a profound respect for the men and women who serve in our emergency services, which I hope to continue to champion.
From the moment I joined, it was clear that I was a fellow professional, a Pilot with a job to do – in such a team there can be no other option, but still I am grateful to my colleagues for accepting me so readily.” – HRH The Duke of Cambridge, William Wales
Director of Operations at EAAA, Matthew Jones, said; “We can’t thank The ALBORADA Trust, and other contributors enough for providing the funds to purchase these vehicles, they provide us with another way to get to more patients in the quickest and safest way possible. We are also incredibly grateful to Hannah White for the time and support she has given to us to help showcase the new RRVs”.
The Nembo Spider Ferrari left to East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) by local businessman Richard Allen was sold, 29 March, at auction for £530,000 by H&H Classics at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford.
Racing driver and motor enthusiast Richard Allen who passed away on November 26th 2016 could clearly remember the helicopter of EAAA coming to the help of one of his fellow race drivers after a crash, hence his generous gesture.
Gerry Hermer, one of East Anglian Air Ambulance’s (EAAA) founding members, and in recent years the aviation consultant for EAAA retires from his role.
The awards, held in London on 14th November, celebrated the lifesaving work carried out by air ambulance charities across the country and honoured those who have made an exemplary contribution to the work of their charities.
East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) flew its 20,000th mission and it almost went by without being noticed. The mission took place on Tuesday 29 November 2016, in Saffron Walden, Essex at 10:57pm. The incident was a road traffic collision and in attendance were Doctor Marcel Rigaud, Critical-Care Paramedic Gary Spitzer with pilots Captain Gavin Blake and Captain Chris Sherriff. EAAA provided ground assistance to the EEAST team.
EAAA has equipped its crew members with body-worn video cameras (BWVC) to further enhance the standards of healthcare it offers. The Charity’s clinical staff are now wearing discreet body cameras when on missions throughout the East of England.
EAAA appoints Doctor Pam Chrispin, Victor Inyang, Neil Berry and Jeremy Mauger to a PHEM consultant position. These consultants are committed to working a for the Charity and will also spend time overseeing EAAA’s governance. This will involve developing the Charity’s standard operating procedures (SOPs), equipment, future direction, training, and of course, will provide on-call consultant advice
Her Majesty the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh visited the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA). During the visit, Her Majesty opened the Charity’s new operating base, the Egerton-Smith Centre, which is sited at Cambridge Airport.
The Royal party arrived at 11:20 am and were met by the Lord Lieutenant Sir Hugh Duberly and welcomed by local dignitaries. The Queen and The Duke were given a tour of the new facility and briefed on the work of EAAA. The Duke of Cambridge was able to show them the H145 aircraft he flies for the Charity. The Queen and The Duke then met some of the Charity’s volunteers, patients, crew and support staff. The Queen unveiled a plaque formally opening the new facility and met the founder of the Charity after whom the building is named, Andrew Egerton-Smith.
The Queen was then introduced to EAAA patient, Boffie Brown along with Dr Ed Gold and CCP Jemma Varela, who were the clinicians who attended her after a serious road traffic collision two years ago. Boffie suffered multiple injuries and was treated at the scene before being taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Boffie had sustained a bleed on the brain, a broken pelvis, two broken vertebrae and extensive damage to her kidneys. She has made a full recovery and is back riding her horse competitively.
The Egerton-Smith Centre is named after the Charity’s founder and President, Andrew Egerton-Smith MBE. Constructed from pre-fabricated materials, the purpose-built new base offers improved energy efficiency and insulation, resulting in reduced running costs. Operational since December 2015, the facility provides work and rest space for the Charity’s clinicians and pilots, together with support staff and volunteers. The base was built using money raised locally from regional supporters.
Major General Sir William Cubitt, EAAA Chairman, said: “We are delighted and honoured that Her Majesty the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh visited the EAAA base today formally to open the Egerton-Smith Centre. It has been a truly wonderful and memorable day and one that our staff, volunteers and patients will treasure”.
EAAA Chief Executive, Patrick Peal, said: “Our success depends as much on the huge support we get from volunteers and donors as it does on our dedicated staff; on this great occasion I would like to thank each and every one of them for all that they do”.
Produced by Tern TV, this astonishing six-episode documentary captures the incredible lifesaving work our doctors, paramedics and pilots achieve every day, bringing pre-hospital emergency medical treatment to patients across East Anglia. Jo Dew, Director of Fundraising said: “Air Ambulance ER will give our generous supporters, the chance to see what we do and how we turn their donations into life-saving missions.”
On Sunday 20 March the East Anglian Air Ambulance hosted its first ever obstacle course race challenge event at the Elveden Estate near Thetford. Over 1,300 people from across the region took part in either the 5 mile or 10 mile course. The event has raised over £100,000 for the charity.
Major General Sir William Cubitt has taken up the role of Chairman for the Charity. Sir William replaces Andrew Egerton-Smith, who served the Charity for over fifteen years, and stepped down in December 2015.
The Charity’s clinical, operations, and communications teams based at Cambridge move into the new base at Cambridge Airport (Marshalls).
The East Anglian Air Ambulance has furthered its commitment to encouraging by-stander CPR by installing defibrillators at the Charity’s offices across the region. In addition, EAAA staff have been trained in CPR and defibrillation. The defibrillators are locked in public access cabinets (CPADs) outside each office.
The Duke of Cambridge, William Wales, has his first shift with EAAA.
Anglia One’s flying hours are extended to cover 07:00 until 19:00.
EAAA receive the UK’s first H145, improving our operational capabilities. The EC135 T2 is moved to Norwich to replace Anglia One.
EAAA is the first air ambulance service in the country to fly to unknown and unlit sites in the hours of darkness. Anglia Two begins flying 07:00 until 23:59 every day of the year.
EC135 T2, a fully night-capable helicopter is delivered to Cambridge to become the new Anglia Two.
We moved from Sterling Aviation to Bond Air Services to start flying the Eurocopter EC135.
Paid doctors seconded from the NHS began to crew the helicopters, rather than using volunteers. This guaranteed the best possible clinical service 365 days a year.
We celebrated our 10 Year Anniversary with increased fundraising activities, a gala ball, and a cookbook supported by top chefs and celebrities in our region.
A dedicated team of critical-care paramedics were appointed to work solely on the aircraft.
Marshalls Airport in Cambridge offers us a permanent overnight base for Anglia Two. We ended the year operating both Anglia One and Two seven days a week.
An appeal is launched to extend the service to Bedfordshire. The service became operational just four months later with a second BK117 in place covering Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire five days a week with the call sign ‘Anglia Two’.
The Bolkow BK117 is ordered from Germany and we end the year with the service becoming ever more busy with missions up by 20% on the previous year.
East Anglian Air Ambulance became operational seven days a week!
An appeal was launched by Andrew Egerton-Smith MBE with the help of Italian horse racing jockey Frankie Dettori MBE to operate our first helicopter.