The Cambridgeshire Lifesaving charity Magpas Air Ambulance recorded its busiest year in three years in 2021, responding to 1,264 emergency calls.

Flying from RAF Wyton in St Ives, the area of Cambridgeshire accounted for 50% of the charities call outs.

The advanced medical team responded to patients in life-threatening emergencies 56 times in Huntingdon.

Magpas Air Ambulance critical care paramedic Andy Ormiston, said: “It’s important to remember that behind the data, every statistic and figure is a person whose life is on the line.

"We attend the most critically ill or injured patients, and so we are trained to respond to very serious medical emergencies and make a crucial difference in those situations.

"Importantly we deliver this care early at the scene which can make a real difference between life and death for many patients, demonstrating the absolute need for advanced care teams like Magpas Air Ambulance.”

The medical team comprises a specialist doctor and critical care paramedic on each shift who, on average, perform lifesaving procedures nine times a week.

The charity supports the ambulance service by bringing additional skills and treatment on a 24/7 basis that would usually only be available in a hospital emergency department.

Magpas Air Ambulance’s director of fundraising & marketing Lucy Chapman, said “Despite continuing to face the challenges of the pandemic this year, it’s clear our lifesaving service is as crucial as ever for patients across counties in and around the east of England.

"It’s hard to believe that at the beginning of last year we were still in the thick of the pandemic and became one of only three air ambulances in the country to provide inter-hospital transfers of COVID-19 patients by air.

"Since then, and particularly as restrictions were eased in Spring, it’s been non-stop for our team of dedicated clinicians who continue to work every day and night to keep all of us safe."

Since 1971, the charity has treated more than 60,000 patients and is appealing to the public for support to continue its service.

Details on how to aid the air ambulance charity can be found on the Magpas website at www.magpas.org.uk.