Your impact in 2024

No two incidents attended by EAAA are the same. Sometimes, we arrive at a scene which is incredibly calm. Other times, like when we arrive at the scene of a road traffic collision, for example, it can be busier and noisier with lots of personnel from the ambulance service, police and the fire service. Sometimes a seriously injured or unwell patient will talk to us, even occasionally crack a joke. Sometimes, the incident scene is extremely emotive, especially when somebody’s situation is so serious that their life hangs in the balance.

Throughout 2024, one thing that has remained constant is you.

Your donations enabled 1,941 critically injured and unwell people across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk to receive urgent critical care, 24/7, when they experienced a life-threatening medical emergency. You give each of those, an average of six people every day, the best possible chance. Because of you, they benefited from the advanced skills, medication and equipment that EAAA crews brought directly to the location of the emergency.

Some received life-saving interventions, like a blood transfusion, surgical procedure or medication not carried by the ambulance service, right there at the scene. The crew accompanied some to the most appropriate, specialist hospital at the right time for their ongoing treatment and care. For some families, it was the comfort of knowing that everything that could be done, was done for one of the people they loved most in this world.

Last year EAAA was called out, on average, eight times a day by air and road from our two bases in Cambridge and Norwich. We attended 521 people who had suffered a cardiac arrest, 394 people who had been involved in a road traffic collision (RTC), and 408 people who had suffered a medical emergency.

Every single task showed us the strength of your support.

There have been incidents this year that really stand out. These include multi-vehicle RTCs, where there have been a lot of resources from EAAA and other agencies, like the ambulance service, police, and fire service. On occasions, both EAAA helicopters, Anglia One (Norwich) and Anglia Two (Cambridge) have been tasked to the same incident, calling on the skills of both crews to attend multiple people.

We’ve been to beaches, farmland, town centres, minor and major roads, sports centres, and people’s homes.

We work alongside other emergency services, including the ambulance service, to do the very best for each patient we attend. Often, we are also supported by the police and fire service. Their added training means they can perform CPR and other life support skills. They can also provide lighting on dark nights, they hold bags of blood, carry our kit bags, and help to carry patients on a stretcher to the helicopter or ambulance. They are the extra pair of hands at the scene,

and you’re the extra pair of hands away from it.

There is often a sense of satisfaction when we’ve handed a patient over to the team at hospitals. Sometimes patients are so very sick; we’ve worked hard to get to them in time and perform enhanced interventions to keep them alive long enough to get to the hospital and give them the best possible chance. Often, we know that these Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) interventions (this year there has been 1,243) have made a huge difference to that person, but we always strive to do better for the next patient, and the next, and the next.

472 people connected with EAAA’s Aftercare team last year. This service offers practical and emotional support in the turbulent aftermath of a life-changing incident. It is led by specialist clinicians who can also arrange visits for former EAAA patients and families to meet the crew who attended them.

It’s always a wonderful moment when former patients and families return to EAAA on these visits. We don’t always get to hear how a patient progresses with their recovery, or how their incident has affected them in the weeks and months that follow, so these visits can be so emotive for us all, especially for patients who had statistics against them. It can be a real tearjerker when they walk through the door.

The difference is you.

Throughout 2024, highly skilled doctors, paramedics and pilots worked together to save lives. We are passionate about our work, and compassionate towards the people and families we attend.

Everyone at EAAA is humbled that you chose to fund and support us to do the job we’re trained to do. Having you behind us every step of the way means we can, not only attend people in some of their darkest times, but research and develop interventions and innovations in pre-hospital emergency medicine – treatments that could improve outcomes for more people.

Looking ahead to 2025, with you by our side, our aftercare service will be there to support former patients and families, our community training team will carry on equipping people with life-saving CPR skills. We will reinforce our commitment to life-saving treatment and care. We will educate and innovate our service delivery, influenced and supported by research, to deliver cutting edge, evidence-based medicine. Ultimately, we will continue to provide a 24/7 life-saving service for you and all the communities we are proud to serve.

You make everything we do possible. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support in 2024.

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2025.

Dr Nicola.