How to save a life

When someone is seriously ill or injured, each second is vital. Every minute to reach the scene of an incident or accident, the time it takes to stabilise them and the race to the hospital – it’s all against the clock.

The Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance can reach any spot in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire in under 20 minutes thanks to its 216mph top speed.

And its arrival at the scene stops the clock, because its highly-trained trauma medics can give A&E level care at the scene.

Chief Pilot Llewis Ingamells (pictured left, below) is from Lincolnshire and grew up in Boston.

He met the previous Chief Pilot of the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance as a young teenager, inspiring him to want to do the same. He took the controls and fulfilled that ambition in 2017.

“When the emergency job phone rings, as aircraft captain, I run out straight to start the helicopter,” he said.

“The co-pilot will take the job details and load this information into the navigation suite. We will have already briefed the crew on the weather and operational restrictions that morning.

“We cover 3,500 square miles, the whole of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, and attend the most serious trauma jobs within the area.”

Since 1994, Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance has flown over 19,600 potentially life-saving missions.

The crew see on average three missions a day, and sometimes more. East mission costs an average of £2,500 – although saving a life is priceless.

It currently flies for set hours seven days a week, but the charity wants to phase up to 24/7 cover and is currently in a two-year trial period to do this.

Flying 24/7 will raise costs – however, the charity receives no direct Government funding and is not part of the NHS.

Together with members and colleagues, Lincolnshire Co-op has raised money through its Community Champions scheme Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance