Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) was established in 2003 and exists to provide a HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) to the counties of Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and the Milton Keynes area. Our service does not simply transport patients to the nearest hospital. Our service routinely carries senior Doctors and Consultants to the scene of incidents in just minutes, providing lifesaving treatment and medication at the scene and en-route to hospital. Our Air Ambulance takes the hospital to the patient, providing the best possible chance of a full recovery.

WNAA is one of very few services outside London to routinely carry a Doctor on board. Our primary response area is the 2000 square miles of Coventry, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes and some of the key border areas like Market Harborough, Banbury and Solihull. We also help out our neighbours under a mutual aid agreement in Birmingham, the West Midlands, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

The service has 15 Doctors, 15 Paramedics & 6 Pilots who service a population of around 1.2 million people. Based at Coventry Airport, in the five years it has been operating, it has flown over 7000 missions. With an ever-increasing callout rate of between 120 and 150 per month, WNAA is the busiest air ambulance in the UK.

Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance regularly attends any incident that is life-threatening, where access by land is limited, or where the patient's quality of life would be affected by undue delay. Our philosophy is to attend any situation where the patient will benefit, regardless of the cost of doing so.

Speed is vital when it comes to emergency situations. Receiving rapid and appropriate medical attention is paramount, and there is an increased chance of survival if the patient receives specialist trauma treatment within the first 60 minutes after an accident - the 'golden hour'. WNAA's state-of-the-art Agusta helicopter can be in the air in just 45 seconds from the time of an emergency call. With a top speed of 200mph it is the fastest civilian helicopter available, and can be anywhere in Warwickshire in 9 minutes and anywhere in Northamptonshire in 15 minutes. Our average response time is just 6 minutes.

The Agusta also has the lowest cabin vibration of any air ambulance helicopter, essential when transporting serious head, neck or spinal injuries, and has enough cabin space for two stretcher patients and for treatment to continue to the whole body if necessary. WNAA takes the hospital to the patient and has saved countless lives.

No Government or National Lottery Funding!

WNAA is a registered charity and relies totally on public donations, fundraising activities and sponsorship. The average cost per mission is around £1000 and the annual basic running cost of the service is over £1.5 million. Currently only able to operate in daylight hours due to the restrictive leasing costs of flying at night, WNAA aims to become the first service in the UK to operate 24 hours per day.

It is your local air ambulance, please support it. www.wnaa.co.uk