MEMBERS of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) have volunteered their services to help fight the coronavirus pandemic in hospitals.

Specialist critical care paramedics from the HIOWAA are working shifts at University Hospital Southampton now to help support the clinical workforce in the emergency department.

Working alongside their doctor and nurse colleagues in the emergency department, the highly trained crew have been able to use their skill sets to ensure a robust response to any surge in attendances.

HIOWAA chief executive, Alex Lochrane, said: "Like all air ambulances, HIOWAA has a vital role to play in our communities, and particularly in response to the current pandemic.

"We are looking at collaborative and innovative ways to continue delivering our advanced clinical skills to patients where and when they need us most and I am immensely proud of our specialist critical care paramedics who have chosen to support their NHS colleagues in this way."

As well as the charity's paramedics, doctors who usually work on board the air ambulance's are also ramping up their shifts as emergency department consultants and anaesthetists in hospitals across the south, staying on the frontline, providing care to critically ill patients in hospital.

Full personal protective equipment has been made available to the charity’s teams of doctors and specialist critical care paramedics in order to ensure the highest standards of safety when they arrive at the scene of an incident.

However, HIOWAA continues to respond to critically ill patients across the region with both air ambulance and emergency response vehicles operating all the time.

Last week, the life-saving charity responded to fifteen emergencies: eleven in the air ambulance and four in the emergency response vehicles.

With face to face fundraising activities postponed for the foreseeable future, the Charity is dependent upon the generosity of the public to keep its life-saving service operational throughout the current pandemic and beyond.

Alex said: "Thanks to the amazing generosity of our communities over many years, we have been able to gear up and respond to this crisis.

"We are an independent charity, however, and every donation we receive helps us to keep our service operational and allows us to be there for those who need us most, not just during these exceptionally challenging times, but always.”