The UK's East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) has completed its 20,000th mission. The incident was a road traffic collision in Essex, and in attendance were doctor Marcel Rigaud, critical care paramedic Gary Spitzer and pilots Gavin Blake and Chris Sherriff. EAAA provided ground assistance to the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Operations director Matthew Jones says: “The 20,000 milestone passed without us even noticing because every mission is equally important to us.”

EAAA launched in the year 2000 and initially offered paramedic cover one day a week in Norfolk. Today it provides advanced clinical care by air at the scene, 365 days a year, from its two bases in Cambridge and Norwich. It attends patients involved in life-threatening or life-changing acci-dents or emergencies such as road traffic collisions and cardiac arrests.

The organisation was the first air ambulance charity in the UK to receive approval for night HEMS operations, and for the last six years it has provided a doctor and critical care paramedic team on almost every shift. Missions have increased significantly and currently it flies over 200 a month. Jones notes that, at the current rate, the next 20,000 missions should be completed in fewer than eight years.

In 2016 EAAA took delivery of a second H145, and opened its Cambridge airport operating base. Says chief executive Patrick Peal: “It is bitter sweet to reach this milestone. On the one hand it is great that we have attended this many patients due to the generosity and support of the people of East Anglia. Unfortunately it is a milestone that is realised because someone has suffered a trauma or medical emergency.”