All about us

The charity was established in 2000 and operated in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk functioning with one helicopter; Anglia One. In 2007 we extended our service to operate a second helicopter, Anglia Two which serves Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Anglia One now focuses on serving Norfolk and Suffolk. The EAAA works with a range of organisations in operating its service including the East of England Ambulance NHS Trust (EEAT), clinical charities.

The EAAA was founded to attend accidents and emergencies because East Anglia covers a vast area, 5,000 sq miles, which is 11% of the total area of England and contains some of its most rural and isolated terrain making it sometimes difficult for land ambulances to reach the scene of accidents and emergencies quickly. Anglia One and Two are subjected to different pressures; Norfolk and Suffolk are more rural and in the summer months with the influx of tourists the population increases by 2-3 million placing enormous pressure on our roads and infrastructure. While in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire there is generally more ‘business’ traffic. Generally our roads in East Anglia are becoming increasingly congested, leading to ever more road traffic collisions - which already make up more than 50% of the incidents we attend.

Our service has developed at a rapid rate, so to reflect the changing environment and continue to provide the highest standards in medical provision our clinical crew are more highly trained than those on the land ambulances. This enables treatment to be given at the scene so patients benefit from on-scene stabilisation which saves more lives and spares thousands from serious long term injury. Once the patient has received the essential on-scene medical treatment the crew on the land ambulances can manage the situation which frees up this rare resource so it can be deployed to accidents and emergencies where these skills are needed elsewhere. If it is necessary the EAAA will transport the patient to the most suitable hospital for their injuries.

In the last year, the two charities; East Anglian Air Ambulance and Magpas, in partnership with the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, have provided a very successful
pre-hospital critical care and retrieval service across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and as a result a decision has now been reached to merge the two charities. This will capitalise on the many synergies between the two organisations and by doing so strengthen and expand the existing clinical services.

To learn more about MAGPAS, click here.



 Learn more about The Service
 
 Learn more about The Team

 Learn more about The Charity

 Click here to see a typical scenario involving the Air Ambulance Service

 Running a charity is a complicated business - click here to get more information on how the East Anglian Air Ambulance operates, from Trustees to donations.