Emergency medical response across Nottinghamshire has been bolstered after Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) extended its Critical Care Car (CCC) service to operate 24 hours a day. The charity says the move will allow specialist clinicians to reach more patients at serious incidents at any time.
Two new vehicles funded by county charity
A donation from the Help Appeal has funded the purchase of two new Volvo XC-90s, which LNAA crews will use to bring the same lifesaving equipment carried on the helicopter directly to scenes. Crewed by HEMS doctors and paramedics, the cars are equipped with ventilators and advanced medicines so that complex emergency care can begin before a patient reaches hospital.
Operating from Tollerton, the CCCs will be dispatched across Nottinghamshire and surrounding areas to incidents including road traffic collisions, cardiac arrests, falls, industrial accidents and assaults.
Why the expansion was needed
LNAA introduced the Critical Care Car in 2020 after a trial indicated that, each year, around 400 extra missions in Nottinghamshire could benefit from this kind of enhanced on-scene care. Working with East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the charity reviewed emergency call data and concluded that rising demand required increased cover.
Early figures show the Nottinghamshire car is already seeing extra activity. In the first 21 days of July, it was dispatched to 81 incidents; 36 of those occurred during the additional shifts, equating to roughly 1.7 extra missions per day.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Additional missions identified annually | ~400 |
| Incidents first 21 days of July (Nottinghamshire car) | 81 |
| Incidents during extra shifts (same period) | 36 (≈ 1.7/day) |
Funding and future plans
LNAA says the expansion is part of a wider operational development, including preparations for a second helicopter, intended to ensure the charity can meet community needs now and going forward. The service operates without Government funding and relies on local charitable support to run.
"Generous and heartfelt thanks must go to all our supporters, who enable us to provide this life-saving service without any Government funding. To all of you, we are eternally grateful and proud to have your support."
The new 24/7 rota means specialist clinicians are available whenever they are needed, whether responding overnight to a serious road collision on a county road or attending a daytime cardiac arrest in an urban area. For local residents, the change should reduce the number of situations where enhanced pre-hospital critical care is not immediately available.
- Service: Critical Care Car (CCC) now 24/7 across Nottinghamshire
- Vehicles: Two Volvo XC-90s purchased with Help Appeal donation
- Staffing: HEMS doctors and paramedics crewing the cars
Operating from Tollerton, LNAA will continue to coordinate with East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust to prioritise dispatch, with the stated aim of delivering advanced emergency care to patients as quickly as possible.
