FOR the first time in the autumn of 2004, the number of riding incidents attended by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance overtook those involving motorcycles. Also for the first time, riding accidents were the second most common reason after road accidents for a call out.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance started only four years ago, and since then it has flown over a 4,000 missions to all parts of Yorkshire as well as occasional calls into Teesside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

Since September 1, 2004, it has attended well over 200 incidents, with over half being road traffic accidents. However, riding accidents have contributed around 6pc to this total, compared to around 5pc involving motorcyclists.

Martin Eede, the chief executive of the air ambulance, said: "It is not that riders in North Yorkshire are getting worse, it is simply that the air ambulance is becoming better known, and the ambulance service call centres are now recognising the advantages that a helicopter can bring in getting patients to treatment as soon as possible."

The advantages of an air ambulance include the speed at which it can get help to the patient and then the patient into hospital.

No part of North Yorkshire is more than ten minutes flying time to an accident and emergency unit. However often the air ambulance will take a patient directly to a specialist treatment centre. For example, many riders involved in accidents have head or spinal injuries and these are often best served by immediate transfer to the spinal injuries centre at Leeds General Infirmary, and the faster the better. In such cases the added stability of the helicopter will help in the transfer of the patient.

Frequently, riding accidents take place well away from roads which then requires a land ambulance to drive over fields, or for the patient to be manually carried to the waiting ambulance. Patients who need to be kept as still as possible will particularly benefit from the helicopter compared to a conventional ambulance.

In addition an air ambulance, with its skids rather than wheels, can land beside the patient in the most remote of locations. The service is frequently to be seen throughout the year on the moors and in the dales, serving those remote rural communities when speed and accessibility are the vital parts of the life saving process.

In the last few weeks a number of incidents have illustrated the advantages of Yorkshire's air ambulance. In the first an 18-month-old toddler entered the paddock at his parent's stables, walked behind a horse and was kicked in the head. The air ambulance was scrambled and arrived within twelve minutes. The helicopter then flew directly to Leeds General Infirmary where it landed on the purpose built helipad.

By land ambulance this journey would have taken around 70 minutes, but by air it was achieved in just ten minutes. The toddler not only survived but will make a full recovery.

In a second incident earlier in November, a 17-year-old woman's horse fell on top of her, breaking her pelvis and rupturing her spleen. The land ambulance crew called in the air ambulance realising that time was critical. The air ambulance flew her to York Hospital in just ten minutes and with a skilled medical team waiting for her she was expected to be home for Christmas.

How is this service paid for? Other than the cost of the paramedics, who are seconded from the ambulance service, no air ambulance service receives any funding from central government whatsoever. Local people have to fund the service.

Fortunately, the people of Yorkshire have supported their air ambulance wholeheartedly. This will enable them to increase the flying hours for next summer until 10pm and to develop the first dedicated "air desk" in the country. This will improve efficiency in dispatching the aircraft, as the air ambulance staff will monitor the 999 calls coming into each of the Yorkshire ambulance call centres and identify the most critical incident to attend. There will also be new aircraft flying during 2005.

* For more information on the Yorkshire Air Ambulance visit the web site: www.yorkshireairambulance.org.uk or contact directly on 0845 120 6060.

Published: 31/12/2004