Longer hours for Air Ambulance will save lives

London's Air Ambulance is to extend its flying hours — saving more lives as it maximises its daylight operating time.

The charity running the service said today it also hoped to buy a second aircraft and hire more crew if it can raise the money.

The single helicopter currently flies from about 8am until 7pm during the longest days in summer.

Outside those times a crew in a fast-response car attends the worst road traffic accidents, shootings, stabbings and other “serious trauma” incidents in London.

Chief executive Graham Hodgkin revealed plans for extended hours from dawn until dusk in summer along with a makeover for its current aircraft.

The crew performs critical procedures on scene including open-chest surgery and anaesthesia. Last month the air ambulance began carrying blood.

Mr Hodgkin said: “It’s one thing to be able to sew up a stab hole at the roadside but without being able to carry blood and undertake transfusions there is a limit to what you can do in terms of saving someone’s life.” Last year, 2,059 people were treated. The charity must raise about £4 million to remain operational and needs to find at least £2.5 million to buy a new MD902 Explorer.

The helicopter covers 600 square miles of London and gets to the furthest reaches of the M25 in about 12 minutes, flying at 150mph, from its daytime base at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. Although part-funded

by the NHS, it is not part of the London Ambulance Service and must source its funding separately. Londoners are encouraged to support it through a £1-a-go lottery.

Mr Hodgkin said: “We deliver a service that we believe is an important part of London’s emergency response. We want to extend the scope of that and ultimately save more lives.”