Tower Hamlets sixth busiest borough for London’s Air Ambulance in 2017

London’s Air Ambulance treated 82 patients in Tower Hamlets last year, making it the sixth busiest borough for call-outs.

The majority of patients treated in 2017 were victims of stabbings or shootings. Picture: London Air Ambulance - Credit: Archant

The charity delivers care via helicopter and rapid response vehicle to patients in life-threatening situations.

In 2017 they treated 1,797 patients across the city, with almost a third of these being stabbing or shooting victims.

Lead clinician Dr Gareth Grier said: “Sadly, through 2017 the number of missions where a patient has been stabbed or shot has risen. It is not unusual now for our teams to perform open chest surgery for stab wounds twice in a single day. This would have been unheard of a few years back. “But our world leading treatments means that we can give these and other patients we treat the best possible chance of survival.

“The challenge we have is to innovate further to help our patients even more.”

The charity costs £10 million a year to run and survives mainly from donations.