The first Air Ambulance was launched in 1998 and the EC135 Eurocopter launched in May 2003. Today, the Eurocopter is in operation seven days a week in daylight hours and attends an average of 2-4 emergencies per day.
The helicopter is fast, warms up quickly, and has space for a family member to accompany the patient. It also has the ability to access remote parts of Essex quickly, including areas inaccessible to land vehicles such as woods, beaches, docks, and golf courses.
Unlike road ambulances, the Eurocopter is not affected by high tides or traffic congestion on our busy roads and country lanes. And, based at Boreham, it is never more than eight minutes flying time from any one of the major hospitals in Essex.
All of this means that the Air Ambulance can bring highly qualified clinicians and sophisticated life-saving equipment to a patient within the first few vital minutes of an emergency.