London’s Helicopter Emergency Medical Service is run by the London’s Air Ambulance (LAA) charity and serves the 10 million people within the M25. Established in 1989 the team operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week attending time critical and life threatening situations ranging from road traffic accidents, industrial accidents and injuries on the rail network.
LAA can provide rapid response to injuries and has a global reputation for pioneering and exacting standards with procedures ranging from pre-hospital anaesthesia to open heart surgery at the roadside.
The helicopter serves the capital during daylight hours and when it is offline, a fleet of six Skoda Octavias take over the role of providing quick response. The cars are equipped with a substantial range of life saving equipment and have a senior trauma doctor and a specially trained paramedic on-board. The cars have blue lights and hi-vis strips so they can be clearly identified as emergency response vehicles and the drivers under go rigorous training under blue light conditions.
Read more about the LAA on their website: http://www.londonsairambulance.co.uk
