Great North Air Ambulance called out to 12 incidents in just two days while helicopter grounded for repairs

The Great North Air Ambulance Service's critical care teams were called out to 12 incidents in just two days, while one of its aircraft was out of action.

On Saturday, September 21, and Sunday, September 22, the service attended seven incidents in the North East, four in Cumbria and one in Scotland. These included two assaults, three cardiac arrests, three falls, three road traffic collisions, and one self-harm incident.

In the North East alone, the service was called out to incidents at High Force Waterfall, Gateshead, Washington, Murton and Sunderland. Two of the incidents saw the service stood down, with paramedics attending the others by road and air.

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A busy weekend couldn't have come at a worse time, after a gearbox fault was found in the North East based helicopter last week. It is currently undergoing repairs at Leeds Bradford Airport, with repairs expected to cost thousands of pounds for the vital charity which receives no government funding.

A spokesperson for the Great North Air Ambulance Service said: "Last week our North East helicopter was transported to Leeds Bradford Airport for repairs with Multiflight after a gearbox fault was found. Our helicopters are expensive commodities to have, and they are a huge asset to our charity.

"However, it's our critical care team who bring the vital skills to the scene - so until repairs are made, our rapid response vehicles and Cumbria-based helicopter will be on standby for the whole North. Despite being an aircraft down, our critical care teams in the North East and Cumbria still had a busy weekend and were dispatched to 12 incidents.

"We’re hoping to have our North East helicopter back on base soon, but unfortunately the current repair will cost our charity thousands of pounds. While we plan for situations like this, any contribution—big or small—will help keep our aircraft in the sky. If you can, please consider donating to help save our helicopter: https://gna.as/brokenheli".