28 Apr 2025
In the first quarter of 2025 – following the announcement that 2024 had been our busiest year on record – London’s Air Ambulance’s advanced trauma team treated 432 patients. March was the busiest month of the three, with 160 patients attended to.
Accumulatively across the months, we attended to the borough of Tower Hamlets the most, followed by Westminster, which were also the two most visited boroughs in 2024. We cover the entire area within the M25 and can fly anywhere in this perimeter in just 11 minutes.
When patients in London suffer life-threatening traumatic injury, only our teams can provide them with the help they need, performing innovative and complex medical procedures to save lives where others can’t.
In January, February and March, we administered 69 rapid sequence intubations, 47 blood transfusions, 44 arterial lines and seven open chest surgeries, alongside other potentially life-saving procedures. Most of these, only our crew can do on scene in London.
After the patient has been stabilised and is ready for transportation, the team usually accompany them to the nearest major trauma centre, of which London has four. This quarter, 130 patients were taken to The Royal London Hospital, 88 patients were taken to St Mary’s Hospital, 43 to King’s College Hospital and 28 to St George’s. Only one patient in the three months was flown to The Royal London Hospital: this is not our primary purpose on scene, we deliver our expert medics to a patient’s side within minutes of injury, at any time of the day or night, in time to make a difference.
Assault was the main cause of injury for these individuals, resulting in 121 patients. Falls resulted in 74 patients, transport-related injuries 66, medical-related injuries 45 and accidents 26. There were also 100 patients who had other or unknown injuries, which includes burn injuries, industrial accidents and crush injuries.
Traumatic injury is the biggest killer of people under 40 in the UK – but on the worst day of someone’s life, our medics can provide hope for the patient and their loved ones. But we’re a charity: can you support us now, to ensure we’re there for London today, tomorrow and always.