A final call for the public to have their say in an air ambulance consultation has been issued.
The aim of the initiative, launched in 2022, is to collect feedback from everyone with views on the Air Ambulance Service.
Teams within the service transfer patients living in remote, rural and island communities to and from hospital.
Made up of a range of paramedics, nurses, advanced practitioners and doctors, teams help provide a flexible and responsive service that offers “timely, safe and effective care for patients”.
The service consists of two helicopters, one which is based in Inverness and two fixed wing aircraft with one at Aberdeen Airport.
Another two helicopters are provided by Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance.
These are used to regularly to provide support to the ScotSTAR retrieval teams and also to respond to 999 calls in a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) role.
Feedback helps build ‘clear picture’ for future
The ongoing consultation will help direct the future of the service with the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).
More than 1,500 people have responded so far, and those who have yet to express their views are being given a final opportunity to contribute.
Andy Moir, air ambulance re-procurement programme director at SAS, said: “I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to contribute to the Air Ambulance Service consultation and engagement exercise so far.
“As we enter the final stage of the consultation and engagement process, we welcome feedback from everyone with views on the Air Ambulance Service and especially those who haven’t been in touch already.
“The feedback we receive enables us to build a clear picture of the desired next generation of the Air Ambulance Service.”
Anyone interested in expressing their opinions on the future of the service can get in touch by emailing sas.airamb@nhs.scot by March 17.
A report outlining the progress so far can be found here.
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