Magpas Air Ambulance provides the communities across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and beyond with advanced medical care 24/7, and the Easter weekend earlier this month was no exception.
As most people wound down for a long weekend, the charity’s team of doctors and critical care paramedics prepared for another bank holiday of saving lives.
Between Good Friday and Easter Monday, Magpas Air Ambulance responded to 26 emergencies in just 4 days. 68% of these missions occurred in Cambridgeshire, and the team were tasked to help patients who were suffering medical emergencies (such as cardiac arrests), or injured in road traffic collisions, accidents, assaults and sport and leisure incidents.
As every member of the Magpas Air Ambulance medical team is specially trained in pre-hospital emergency medicine (PHEM), the charity’s clinicians are only called to the most seriously ill and injured patients, as they can provide treatments and procedures—such as placing someone under general anaesthetic—which can usually only be done in a hospital. By providing this immediate care at the scene of a patient’s emergency when every second counts, Magpas Air Ambulance saves lives, limits disability, and keeps families together. In 2023—Magpas Air Ambulance’s busiest year on record—the charity responded to more than 1,900 medical emergencies and saved countless lives.
This Easter, the doctors and paramedics working over the long weekend were surprised by local developer, David Wilson Homes. The company, that has been building on the Alconbury Weald development—a stone's throw away from Magpas Air Ambulance’s base—donated 50 Easter eggs to Magpas Air Ambulance to spread some cheer and to say thank you for the vital work the air ambulance team carries out across the East of England. David Wilson Homes delivered 50 chocolate eggs to Magpas Air Ambulance in total, meaning every member of the charity’s medical team could have one.
Magpas Air Ambulance CEO, Daryl Brown MBE DL, said “We’re very grateful for David Wilson Homes’ kind donation of Easter eggs. It was a wonderful surprise for our clinicians, who I know enjoyed them between missions over the Easter weekend as they continued to provide emergency care to critically ill and injured patients across the region. Tokens of appreciation like this are really welcomed during a busy shift and bring a smile to the faces of our doctors and paramedics!”
Will Phair, Sales Director at David Wilson Homes Cambridgeshire, added “It was a pleasure to be able to donate the Easter eggs to Magpas Air Ambulance. As well as building new homes for the community, we have a strong belief in supporting the areas in which we build and strengthen our relationship with the local community.
“It is our hope that our donation of Easter treats can go some way in thanking staff who deserve praise for the fantastic service they provide.
“The air ambulance team is a crucial lifeline for the people across the East of England, and we were more than glad to offer them this gesture to help them celebrate Easter.”
