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Magpas Air Ambulance – the Cambs-based charity which provides around-the-clock lifesaving services 365 days a year – has announced that 2023 was its busiest ever year.

Natalie Church, Magpas Air Ambulance Director of Operations, said that the charity’s doctors and paramedics had had “an extremely busy year.”

“With activations increasing by more than 40%, they have done everything possible to continue delivering lifesaving pre-hospital care to patients, wherever they are,” she added.

The lifesaving Magpas Air Ambulance team travelled a distance equal to 4.5 times around the Earth to help critically injured people throughout our region last year (image: MAGPAS)

The charity responded to 1,903 emergencies across 13 counties in and around the East of England in 2023.

This represents a staggering 42% increase on the previous year.

Data shows that incidents within Cambridgeshire – including Peterborough and its surrounding areas – accounted for 55% of all call-outs.

“It’s clear from these figures that there is more demand for our service than ever before,” said Lucy Chapman, the charity’s Director of Fundraising and Marketing.

MAGPAS noted that, as in previous years, life-threatening medical emergencies such as cardiac arrests remained the number one reason for activation in 2023.

The MAGPAS medical team combines the skills of a senior doctor and critical care paramedic on every shift.

Highly trained in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM), these clinicians are able to provide advanced medical care above that of a standard land ambulance.

This means that they’re only typically called to treat critically ill or injured patients at the scene of an incident.

It is estimated that the Magpas Air Ambulance medical team travelled a distance equivalent to 4.5 times the circumference of the planet while responding to emergencies last year.

Founded in 1971, the charity – which moved to its new base in Alconbury Weald in 2023 – relies on generous public donations to continue saving lives.

“As a charity, Magpas Air Ambulance can only continue to be there for people in need thanks to donations from the people and communities we serve,” Lucy explained.Anyone wishing to contribute to MAGPAS, either through a direct donation or by signing up to help with fundraising, can do so by visiting www.magpas.org.uk.

MAGPAS: Cambs air ambulance experiences busiest year on record