35 YEARS OF SAVING LIVES In 1987, Cornwall became the first county in the UK to launch an air ambulance helicopter, a vital service that has proven time and again its importance in such a rural destination.
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n April 1, Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust (CAAT) celebrated 35 years since that first emergency callout, with staff past and present and former patients invited to celebrate and share their memories.
paramedics arriving, he was whisked to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro. His name is now on the underside of the helicopter, along with more than 1,000 others as part of the Heli Heroes campaign, raising over £120,000 for the charity.
The service has attended more than 31,000 emergency missions since its launch. In 2021 alone, Critical Care Paramedics were called to 1,092 patients in need, attending everything from medical emergencies to trauma-related incidents across the county and beyond. The helicopter reaches incident scenes in an average of just 12 minutes, and significantly reduces the time taken to get seriously ill patients the treatment they need, whether on scene or in hospital.
“I have no doubt the air ambulance saved my life,” says Derek, now 81. He has since dedicated much of his time to fundraising - “The air ambulance is top of the list” - while his daughter, Debbie Henshaw, was so inspired by events she applied to work for the charity and is now senior fundraising manager.
Bus driver Derek Lindsey, from St Eval, was gardening when he began suffering severe chest pains one Bank Holiday Monday in 1990. Within 10 minutes of the n 6 |
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Issue 72 | June - July 2022
The original crew members were trained by Dr Peter Cox, who had attended many road traffic accidents. His daughters, Caroline Cox and Vicki Ashton-Cox, were present for the celebrations. “Dad was passionate that anyone who arrived on scene as first responders, regardless of hierarchy, should have the correct training and know what to
do, and what not to do,” recalls Caroline. “He was effectively training the first paramedics, which was ground-breaking at a time when ambulance staff weren’t trained to be anything more than drivers; many in the industry doubted it was a good use of money, but it has proved its worth.” In 1989, Dr Cox had a heart attack and was himself airlifted to hospital by crew members he had trained. “He had firsthand experience of the service, and we got an extra 30 years out of him,” says Vicki. “I feel rather emotional – it's nice to see how far it’s come, and to think Dad was involved at the very beginning.” Geoff Newman was the first pilot, and has written a book about the history of the air ambulance. “It was very exciting when we went for the first alarm call, and to be able to demonstrate from the get-go why we needed such a resource in Cornwall,” he says. “A student had jumped from
