New Advanced Paramedics service launched

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, in partnership with the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST), has launched its first 24-hour Advanced Paramedic service, helping the charity reach more patients and cover a broader range of critical incidents. 

Following an initial test period from 15th June, the Advanced Paramedic car officially launched on 20th July 2026 and has already made a significant impact. Since 15th June, the car has attended 62 patients, responding to a broad range of cases, from medical emergencies such as cardiac arrests (40% of call-outs) to road traffic collisions (25%), as well as other traumatic incidents. Since formally launching, the service has been operating around the clock, with taskings coming in at all hours of the day and night. 

Based out of the charity’s Earls Colne airbase and operating via a dedicated Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV), a team of Advanced Paramedics is working as solo responders, tasked by EEAST’s critical care dispatch desk. 

Advanced Paramedics are specialist paramedics with qualifications and training that enable them to deliver an enhanced level of critical care including advanced sedation, enhanced analgesia, and specialist cardiac arrest and major trauma care. This brings senior clinical decision-making to the patient’s side, a level of support that the ambulance crews alone are not equipped to provide. 

Of the patients attended, in many cases the Advanced Paramedic used this senior clinical support to treat and stabilise the patient at the scene before handing over to the EEAST crew to continue to hospital, freeing the Advanced Paramedic to respond to the next call. In other cases, the Advanced Paramedic stayed with the patient and provided critical care all the way to hospital. In all instances, patients benefited from this level of support at the point of need, while the rapid response model allowed a high volume of calls to be attended. 

The Advanced Paramedics draw on the extensive experience, training and education they have gained whilst working within the HEMS team. They attend serious trauma cases such as complex fractures requiring sedation and limb realignment, and challenging medical cases such as cardiac arrests, where they provide senior clinical decision making, interventions and scene leadership. This is increasing the type and volume of critical care calls Essex & Herts Air Ambulance can respond to, freeing the charity’s HEMS teams to focus on the most critically ill or injured patients requiring additional layers of care, such as pre‑hospital blood transfusions, anaesthesia, and advanced surgical interventions. 

The Advanced Paramedics spend their day responding across the region, working closely alongside teams from ambulance stations, with a rota of on‑call HEMS Consultants available to support them with remote advice when required. 

The roles are filled by some of the charity’s most experienced Advanced Paramedics, who also continue to work with doctors as part of the HEMS team in addition to their shifts in the Advanced Paramedic RRV. 

This collaborative service is part of a pilot, which Essex & Herts Air Ambulance expects will demonstrate significant impact for patients in the region, and which it hopes will become a core part of the service it offers in the future. 

Advanced Paramedic response services already play a vital role in emergency care provided by charities across the East of England, including BHECCS, Magpas, SARS, and NARS. Essex & Herts Air Ambulance’s new service brings this same level of critical care to more patients across the region. 

Patients attended by the Advanced Paramedic team receive the same aftercare from the charity’s Patient and Family Liaison Team, as well as regular governance review and training sessions led by the Consultant Doctor team.  

Mark Jarman-Howe, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance’s CEO said: 

“Introducing Advanced Paramedics into our charity’s clinical service is already helping to ensure patients get the help they need, when they require it most. In an emergency, that can make the difference between life and death. In just the first two months, the team attended 62 patients, and we expect this new programme to potentially double the number of patients we can attend over time, which will be really significant for us, for those patients and for the wider community”. 

Dr Tony Joy, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance’s Medical Director said: 

“We are committed to delivering the highest standard of pre-hospital care to every patient we attend. We continuously strive to improve patient outcomes through innovation and collaboration. The question is always ‘will this help us provide better care to more patients?’ This programme will undoubtedly do that, as well as valuing the immense experience of our talented paramedics and helping them to develop further for the benefit of our patients. With the Advanced Paramedic team we are already attending more missions and ensuring the right level of care to those who require our help in their time of need”. 

Louise Rosson, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance’s Associate Clinical Director said: 

‘I am extremely proud of our Advanced Paramedic team and the hard work they have put into developing the skills, knowledge and experience needed to deliver critical care independently to our patients. This is a fantastic development to recognise the Paramedic profession, and support and enhance the care the ambulance service delivers. Most importantly, it means we can bring advanced, potentially lifesaving care to more patients across our counties when they need it most.’ 

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