Wings Aeromedical in Bristol has acquired a Lifeport stretcher system, in a joint venture with nearby charter firm Capital Aviation, which has also recently upgraded its fleet with the addition of a Beech King Air 200. The system selected comprises a precision-engineered large medical base with a stretcher on top, which can be fitted into an aircraft.

Wings chairman Royden Harrill described its benefits: “One of the problems with stretcher patients on air ambulances is the lifting and loading. It’s hard work and can be quite precarious. A Lifeport stretcher takes on all that risk for you.

For loading and unloading the patient all you have to do is put the patient onto the stretcher base and then push. It makes the whole process much safer and easier.”

One of only two companies in the UK to operate the Lifeport, Wings regularly uses Capital Aviation’s aircraft for air ambulance charter. The company was formed over 20 years ago and works on behalf of travel insurance companies, arranging everything from pre-travel medical screening, to air ambulance, to medical case management and patient admission to UK hospitals.