1,000 Missions

1,000 reasons to believe in kindness

TCAA celebrates milestone year of missions

As the festive season brings a spirit of giving, we are celebrating a monumental year marked by unwavering dedication to supporting critically ill babies and children.

This year, we have proudly reached our 1,000th mission – a landmark achievement that reflects our vital role in paediatric and neonatal care across the UK.

Since our first flight in 2013, we have been a beacon of hope, providing a high-speed, dedicated transfer service for young patients needing specialist care. Working in partnership with 11 NHS Clinical Partner Teams, we ensure that even the most vulnerable patients have access to the specialist care they need, when they need it most.

This year’s milestone was reached on Friday, 05 July 2024, when our G-NICU helicopter undertook the 1,000th mission, transferring a neonatal patient with Embrace – the Yorkshire and Humber Infant and Children’s Transport Service. The journey, from Liverpool to Chesterfield, took just 33 minutes by air – compared to the two-hour-plus trip by road, exemplifying the life-changing impact of our work.

Our clinical partnerships include:

Embrace (Yorkshire and Humber Infant and Children’s Transport Service)
Children’s Acute Transport Service (CATS)
Children’s Medical Emergency Transport Team (CoMET)
ECMO
Kids Intensive Care and Decision Support & Neonatal Transfer Service (KIDS/NTS)

North West and North Wales Paediatric Transport Service (NWTS)
Wales and West Acute Transport for Children Service (WATCh)
Southwest Neonatal Advice and Retrieval (SoNAR)
South Thames Retrieval Service (STRS)
Southampton Oxford Neonatal Transfer service (SONeT)
Southampton Oxford Retrieval Team (SORT)

STRS

Manal Alasnag, Clinical Lead of the South Thames Retrieval Service at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, said: “We are proud to be partnered with the Air Ambulance team. Through close partnership we ensure that children and young adults can be safely transferred and get timely specialist intensive care they require, no matter where they are.”

SONeT

Regina Nalliannan, Consultant Neonatologist and Interim Clinical Lead for SONeT transport service at University Hospital Southampton, said: “TCAA is instrumental in getting us to our sick, fragile patients in a quick and timely manner and helping families move closer to home. We are privileged to house one of their bespoke neonatal transport incubators and are extremely grateful to the entire team for all their help over the years, transporting babies and their families.”

SORT

Michael Griksaitis, consultant paediatric intensivist at Southampton Children’s Hospital and clinical lead for Southampton Oxford Retrieval Team (SORT), said: “'We are delighted to work alongside the TCAA. Our geography means several hospitals are a long distance away – some of them on islands - and the TCAA provides an opportunity for us to get to the bedside of critically ill children faster.”

CoMET

Daniel Walsh, Advanced Clinical Practitioner, based at University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) said: “The Children’s Air Ambulance provides crucial transportation and helps us to be more flexible in our approach to the care we can give to babies, children and young people who have critical needs in Leicester, the East Midlands and nationally. Having access to their clinically designed helicopter allows delivery of patient treatment whilst moving, instead of a road ambulance that may have to make stops during its journey from one hospital to another. The Children's Air Ambulance is a team of dedicated individuals who are passionate about the service they provide and are a pleasure to work with.”

SoNAR

Patrick Turton, SoNAR Service Lead Nurse, said: “The collaboration between The Children’s Air Ambulance and the clinical partner teams such as SoNAR, has had a huge impact on babies and families. The development of the aeromedical incubator has been a particular success story for us. We’re now able to safely fly much smaller and more fragile babies than ever before, significantly reduce journey times to the specialist centres for on-going care and improving patient experience and care. The commitment and dedication of the entire TCAA team has been hugely appreciated – and fundamental to the achievement of 1000 flights. Thank you from all of the SoNAR Team, and the babies and families we’ve transferred!”

NWTS

Suzy Emsden, Lead Consultant for North West and North Wales Paediatric Transport Service (NWTS), said: “For over 11 years, our patients and families have hugely benefitted from TCAA's service. NWTS works as a collaboration between Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital to transfer critically ill children from district hospitals across North West and North Wales to one of the two paediatric intensive care units. “The ability to fly patients from the more distant areas of our region means that their journey can drop from hours to minutes and they have access to the best possible care in times of crisis. We can also quickly and safely transfer patients to other specialist hospitals across the country when required, and our teams can look after more patients. “TCAA provide a caring, committed service who place the children and families at the heart of all they do. We are proud to work with them and grateful for the hugely positive impact on our patients”.

ECMO

Claire Westrope, PICU & ECMO Consultant said: “I am one of the PICU and ECMO Consultants in Leicester and have been working with the TCAA for several years (I was involved in the interior/stretcher design project for the TCAA as well as development of the bespoke ECMO tray for transfer of babies and children on ECMO. “It's incredible that they have reached 1000 transfers and am super proud and delighted that we have started to use the TCAA to successfully transfer babies and children on ECMO.”

When baby Ellie was born over six weeks prematurely and suffering from a rare, life-threatening condition, your donations meant we could safely transfer her to a hospital 114 miles away to receive the treatment she needed.

Ellie's Story

While his family were on holiday, baby Joshua was born prematurely by emergency caesarean section and needing immediate treatment for breathing difficulties. To be closer to their support network, his family needed to get home, but he was too weak to travel by road. Your donations meant that we could safely fly him home to be with his family.

Joshua's Story

Reaching that 1,000-mission milestone earlier this year, and now reaching over 1,073, is a testament to the unwavering dedication and teamwork of everyone involved with the Children’s Air Ambulance. I am immensely proud of the incredible efforts of our entire team - from the airdesk team and crew members to our skilled pilots and all those behind the scenes who work tirelessly to ensure we can continue supporting the Clinical Partner Teams.

Alfie Daly, Head of Operations at TCAA

Our achievements this year build on more than a decade of innovation, from bespoke incubators that enhance neonatal care to pioneering in-flight clinical offerings such as ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and nitric oxide. These advancements ensure that we continue to lead the way in aeromedical transfers, offering NHS clinicians the tools they need to provide world-class care in the air.

Chris Bailey, Associate Director of Operations at TCAA, expressed his pride in the service’s continued evolution, saying:

“Since its inception, TCAA has continuously evolved to meet the growing needs of our NHS Clinical Partner Teams with helping critically ill babies and children. From the pioneering offering of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and nitric oxide, to the launch of three bespoke incubators, our vital service continues to revolutionise paediatric and neonatal care.

“As TCAA celebrated this 1,000-mission milestone, not only are we incredibly proud to have helped so many young patients and keep families together, but our charity remains committed to enhancing support for those fantastic NHS teams we work alongside.

“On behalf of the charity, I’d like to personally thank all of our loyal supporters, as without them, we would not have been able to continually offer and improve our service – guaranteeing that we fulfil NHS clinicians’ requirements to ensure they have everything they need to provide the best possible patient care in the air.”

As a charity relying solely on public donations, our achievements are powered by kindness and community support. Each mission costs an average of £3,600 to complete, and the charity’s work would not be possible without the generosity of its supporters. This Christmas, we invite everyone to embrace the spirit of the season with its heartfelt message: “Believe in the joy of giving; kindness is the greatest gift.”

Through donations, we can continue our vital work. This holiday season, every contribution will help us move closer to our next 1,000 missions, ensuring that we’re there for more young lives.

As we looks ahead to the new year, we remain committed to our mission of enhancing paediatric and neonatal care, and the charity is poised to continue making a difference for families across the UK.

Donate to us today and help fund our next lifesaving flight.