Air Ambulance Northern Ireland

Air Ambulance Northern Ireland (AANI) also known as Air Ambulance NI is a registered charity that operates an air medical service dedicated to responding to serious trauma emergencies in Northern Ireland.

In August 2016, it was announced by the Northern Irish government that Air Ambulance NI will partner with the health service in Northern Ireland to provide the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS). The charity will work in partnership with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service to provide the aviation side of the service and fund the non-medical costs of HEMS with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service being commissioned to provide the clinical staff, equipment, clinical governance arrangements and operational tasking.

The service is primarily based at Maze Long Kesh near Lisburn, with a spare aircraft at the secondary base at St Angelo Airport in County Fermanagh. The helicopter has the call sign Helimed23 in keeping with the Helimed callsigns of all U.K. air ambulance helicopters, and will typically transfer patients with serious injuries to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland's major trauma centre.

Historically, Northern Ireland has been the only part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland, without air ambulance provision and several previous attempts to introduce a HEMS service failed. A comprehensive report published in February 2004 argued against the provision of an air ambulance service from Scotland in favour of either a separate Northern Ireland service, or one provided as part of an all Ireland coordinated system. The trustees of the AANI came together in December 2013 to commence the process of forming a charity-led company to run an Air Ambulance. Independently in late 2013 Dr John Hinds and other members of the Northern Ireland Regional Faculty of Prehospital care began discussing ways of encouraging the development of a fully-fledged HEMS service at a time when the only air support for casevac was from either Coastguard or PSNI helicopters. After a near fatal accident at the NW200 in May 2015 Dr Hinds' views received widespread support and he began a public campaign for Northern Ireland to have its own air ambulance. In March 2016, the key findings of a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service consultation were announced. In August 2016, it was announced by the Northern Irish government that Air Ambulance NI would partner with the health service in Northern Ireland to provide the helicopter emergency medical service.

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Wikipedia