Magpas Air Ambulance experienced its busiest year on record in 2023 as the charity responded to 1,903 emergencies, across 13 counties in and around the East of England—a 42% increase on the previous year.

Following the same patterns as recent years, life-threatening medical emergencies such as cardiac arrests remained the number one reason for activation, followed by patients injured in road traffic collisions, accounting for 66% of the service’s emergency callouts combined. Positively, of the 368 patients Magpas Air Ambulance treated in cardiac arrest, 70% of them had been given bystander CPR prior to the emergency team’s arrival – something the charity is working hard to increase through its Community CPR training sessions.

Magpas Air Ambulance also continued to see more men than women, with 59% of patients treated being male. And they were called to an average of two critically ill or injured children a week.

As every one of the charity’s clinicians is trained in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM), they can provide advanced medical care (above that of a standard land ambulance) at the scene of a patient’s incident. This means they’re only called to the most critically ill or injured patients in the area. By providing patients with hospital-level care early on, Magpas Air Ambulance not only saves lives, but limits disability and reduces recovery times too.

The charity, which moved into its new base in Alconbury Weald, Cambridgeshire in 2023, provides its lifesaving service 24/7, 365 days a year. Responding to incidents by helicopter and via the charity’s three rapid response vehicles, the Magpas Air Ambulance medical team travelled a distance of 4.5 times the circumference of the world last year alone to reach patients wherever they needed them. This is only possible thanks to Magpas Air Ambulance’s advanced doctors and critical care paramedics working around the clock to keep communities in the region safe.

“Our doctors and paramedics have had an extremely busy year. With activations increasing by more than 40%, they have done everything possible to continue delivering lifesaving pre-hospital care to patients, wherever they are. It’s important to remember that behind the data, every statistic and figure is a person whose life is on the line, and it’s the incredible Magpas Air Ambulance medical team who make crucial differences for those patients every day.”

Natalie Church – Magpas Air Ambulance Director of Operations

“After working through our busiest year on record, it’s clear from these figures that there is more demand for our service than ever before. As a charity, Magpas Air Ambulance can only continue to be there for people in need thanks to donations from the people and communities we serve.”

“There are so many ways you can help Magpas Air Ambulance continue to save lives 24/7 and keep families together this year—
from taking on one of our exciting challenges such as our Mission: Obstacle Dash or skydiving; to volunteering with us in the office or out and about at events; or simply just donating vital funds to our cause. Visit magpas.org.uk to find out more”

Lucy Chapman – Magpas Air Ambulance Director of Fundraising and Marketing