East of England Air Ambulance Services Praised for High Level of Cover Across the Region According to New Report

The East of England Air Ambulance services were praised in a new study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal this month for providing people across the region with the highest levels of access to doctor-based pre-hospital care teams compared to other parts of the UK, bringing critical interventions to patients as soon as possible after sudden illness or injury.

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance is one of eleven air ambulance services across the country with a doctor-based team available 24/7. It’s positive news for people across Essex & Hertfordshire, with doctor-based air ambulances able to provide advanced critical care to badly injured and extremely unwell patients before they reach hospital.

Last year we attended 2,491 missions from road traffic collisions to accidental injuries and medical emergencies like cardiac arrest. Our helicopters can reach the farthest points of Essex or Hertfordshire in less than 20 minutes, and we deploy rapid response vehicles (RRV) before sunrise and after sunset.

The new study, co-authored by Dr Gareth Grier, Associate Medical Director at Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, highlights significant improvements in all air ambulance services across the UK since a previous, similar study over 17 years ago. The provision of consistent 24/7 doctor-based teams had risen from one in 2009 to 11 in 2024 and the number of doctor-based air ambulance teams had increased from 11 in 2009 to 30 in 2024.

Despite the improvements, the study also reveals persistent gaps in the availability of 24/7 emergency air ambulance services (HEMS) in other parts of the UK.

As a charity, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance relies solely on donations and receives no funding from the government or NHS to maintain our vital service. According to the study, only one of the 21 air ambulances across the UK is completely government funded, the majority are charities.

Dr Gareth Grier, co-author of the paper and Associate Medical Director at Essex & Herts Air Ambulance said,

“It’s exciting to see ongoing improvements across the UK in the provision of vital air ambulance services. When someone is critically injured, the most important factor determining the outcome is the time it takes to provide key medical interventions. We can deliver hospital-level care to the patient wherever they are.

“We’re proud that Essex & Herts Air Ambulance is part of the network of air ambulance teams in the East of England providing high levels of cover. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our service to provide the best level of care when people need it most. This research paints a clear picture of some of the gaps across the country that need to be addressed”.

Commenting on the research, Mark Jarman-Howe, CEO at Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, said:

“Like so many vital air ambulances, we are a charity and we simply couldn’t do what we do without our supporters. We are so grateful to the people and organisations across Essex and Hertfordshire who help keep our helicopters flying.

Many people don’t realise that air ambulances don’t just transport patients to hospital – we bring the hospital to the patient. Whether responding to individual emergencies or major incidents, the role of these critical care teams in delivering rapid, advanced care to whoever needs it cannot be overemphasised, and this can have a significant impact on outcomes. We’re committed to working with air ambulances across the country to constantly improve the services we can provide”.

With each mission costing around £2,800, we rely on the support of individuals and organisations to keep our helicopters in the air and RRVs on the road. Thank you to all our supporters. Donate here

The full research paper – Access to physician- based Helicopter Emergency Medical Services in the UK: a service analysis in 2024, Emergency Medicine Journal (2026) – can be found here

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