Lincs/Notts Air Ambulance update

31st July 2025Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) – Penny Lord

At our second visit to The Rutland Arms at Bottesford, Alan F confirmed that the tickets for The Maestros Event at The Bingham Arena on 22^nd November are available. He also mentioned that Mary B C is taking over the welfare duties following the retirement of Mike Twells; she updated us with current welfare issues: Gerry T in hospital, Clive had visited QMC for a procedure, but had a fall on exiting and Mike T would be going in on Monday for an operation on his toe, Jane Carson had received a hospital visit from Mary and Carmel. President Gail then handed over to Penny for her presentation.

Penny informed us that she had been a volunteer for about 12 months, last year volunteers did the equivalent hours to 13.5 full time employees.  The Charity organisation had started in May 1994 (1^st AA started in Devon and Cornwall) and had LNAA completed over 30 000 missions since 1994.  It costs £13m pa.  They had 5 different helicopters in that time, the current one being a AW169, but a second one (AW109) is about to be purchased (Summer 2027) due to the 134% increase in missions. The current craft has a range of 509 miles (3 missions per re-fuelling); it cost £7.6m plus £100k of medical equipment. She posed the question as to what a ‘rotor head’ is and informed us that it’s the international slang name for a helicopter pilot! They are based on premises next to RAF Waddington and responded to 1771 missions in 2023, with 1724 in 2024, covering 3 500 square miles and taking patients to 26 different hospitals, attending 488 road traffic collisions, with the capability of night travel.

The LNAA is operated with Chief Pilot Captain Lewis Ingamels, Senior Paramedic Erica Ley and Medical Director Gareth Davies. With 10 pilots, 18 paramedics and 30 Doctors plus a couple of mechanics.  The normal crew is a pilot, co-pilot, paramedic and Doctor, and apparently Aviation rules insist that they have to have a ‘first Aid kit’ on board!? They received a special award in 2021 for completing open chest surgery on a knife blade victim.  As a Charity and bearing in mind it costs about £4k a mission, their fundraising is critical with about 39% from Legacies, 34% from The Lottery, 20% fundraising activities to operate their 365/24/7 Helicopter Emergency Medical Service. They currently have two charity shops in Wragby and Mansfield Woodhouse, but negotiating for two more in Retford and Arnold.

Following a number of question that Penny fielded, Ian gave the Vote of Thanks adding how amazed he was that the NHS did not fund the service, but on reflection felt that LNAA was protected from the NHS inefficiencies! He thanked Penny for her interesting presentation and asked members to join him in the usual warm round of applause.                        AR