The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is marking its 16th anniversary with a new service for those recovering following an accident.
The life-saving charity is expanding its service from frontline pre-hospital critical care to supporting patients and their relatives who have been involved in potential life-changing incidents through its new Aftercare service.
Since its first flight on 1 July 2007, the air ambulance service has been treating critically ill and severely injured patients at the scene of an incident.
However, due to the severity of its call-outs, including road traffic collisions and cardiac arrests, many of its patients are often left with significant physical and emotional challenges, such as living with a traumatic brain injury or coming to terms with the loss of a limb.
The Aftercare team are on hand to provide these patients with an explanation of the care they received, as well as ongoing support throughout their recovery, in what is seen as a crucial step in the charity's development.
The team can also provide key signposting or introductions to specialist support services, where practical, social and emotional support are recognised as invaluable in the journey of recovery.
The team, made up of two of the charity’s own paramedics, Tom Nickisson-Richards and Nicola Hawkes, and a senior hospital nurse, Nikki Harris, each have a wealth of medical knowledge and experience to provide support and detailed explanations of specific treatments.
One Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Aftercare Manager, Tom, said:
“Patients who have been treated by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance have often experienced significant illness or injury.
"Not only have their lives been turned completely upside down, but the lives of their families have also been profoundly affected.
"Aftercare will provide a consistent point of support to these patients and their families, helping them to make sense of what happened."
Since its first flight in 2007, the charity has responded to more than 17,000 emergency calls for help, many of which have been lifesaving.
The charity relies entirely on donations from the public to keep the air ambulance flying and saving lives.
Visit www.hiowaa.org for more information.
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