East Anglian Air Ambulance to become first in the east to operate its life-saving helicopter 24 hours a day

  • Anglia

Building work starts today on a new base for the East Anglian Air Ambulance at Norwich Airport. When finished, the charity will be able to operate its Norfolk-based and community funded helicopter 24 hours a day. This will make it the first air ambulance in the East of England to do so.

The teams of doctors and critical care paramedics already operate 24/7 via a rapid response vehicle from Norwich. But by flying from Norwich in the near future, they say they will be able to serve the region even better by attending hundreds more patients a year.

Staff, supporters and volunteers are all mucking in to help start the building works Credit: EAAA

The new base will cost around seven million pounds, all funded by donations.

The charity says the new base will also provide essential rest and welfare facilities for their night crew by creating a space fit to house the operational staff for years to come. It will also be equipped with a state-of-the-art training to to help the crews keep up-to-date with their vital training.

Building works are expected to be completed by late 2020 and will not interrupt the charity’s day-to-day operation.