The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) has employed 10 new critical care doctors in the hopes of expanding and becoming a 24/7 service.

Last year, the charity not only developed its service in Cumbria to cover 24 hours a day across the two busiest nights of the week but also began a long-term trial to transfer seriously injured or unwell patients by helicopter from the Isle of Man directly to the UK for emergency medical treatment.

GNAAS’s medical director, Chris Smith, said: “There is a definite need for more doctors within the organisation. We’re busier than ever and demands on the service are high.

“An expanded service means more night work and that means we need more doctors.”

The doctors, who all applied for the role through national selection, had to pass the charity’s rigorous assessment day which was comprised of a panel interview, clinical simulations, and written exams.

Dr Smith said: “We had over 80 applications, all of which were of a very high standard, and we had to whittle that down to 15.

“In the end, 10 doctors were selected. These 10 had the required experience, skillset, and approach needed to ensure we continue to deliver the best standard of care to our patients.”

Some of the successful candidates are currently commuting from the North West and Edinburgh to complete their shifts with GNAAS and will each take on about four shifts a month, working alongside the charity’s paramedic and pilot team.

At GNAAS, in order for the charity to keep developing the level of care it offers, it needs to keep recruiting specialist doctors who have an interest in pushing the established boundaries of Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM).

Dr Smith said: “The doctors we’ve taken on all come from varied backgrounds.

“Some are already trained in PHEM and are based in hospitals around the country in emergency medicine or anesthesia roles and a few of them are from military backgrounds.”

The team of 10 will all follow the same gruelling ‘sign-off’ process as all GNAAS critical care staff and will work across the region from both the charity’s North East and North West bases in Teesside and Penrith.

GNAAS is dependent on donations to survive and has launched a raffle with a top prize of £10,000 to help it meet rising demand for its services. Tickets cost £1 each and are available now at https://gna.as/2022raffle

About GNAAS

  • The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is a charitably funded air ambulance service which provides life-saving throughout the North East, North Yorkshire, and Cumbria.
  • They operate two helicopters 365 days a year and also operate a night-time service in the North East and Cumbria on rapid response vehicles.
  • The aircraft cover an area of about 8,000 square miles and on board are specialist doctors and paramedics who effectively bring the hospital to the patient.
  • The level of skill and expertise of the on-board team mean they respond to the most critically ill and injured people, giving them the best chance of survival.
  • GNAAS is a progressive organisation which has pioneered pre-hospital care in the region.
  • The latest techniques, equipment and drugs are constantly being evaluated to ensure the charity can provide the best care possible for their patients.
  • 2022 marks the service providing 20 years of life-saving care. Throughout this time, they have responded to more than 23,500 times across the region, with road traffic collisions being the most frequent type of incident responded to by the team.
  • They do not receive Government funding and must therefore raise £6.7m a year through public donations to remain operational.

For more information visit: https://www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/ or follow @gnairambulance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok