AIR AMBULANCE CALLS RISE

Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance has recorded its busiest ever year as the country emerged from lockdown with an increased demand for the life-saving service. Emergency callouts soared well beyond pre-pandemic levels with crews at the charity’s Aberdeen and Perth airbases deployed 810 times during 2021 – a 76% increase on the previous year’s workload. A total of 333 people were airlifted by SCAA, being flown to the country’s four Major Trauma Centres at Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh. The majority of call-outs were as a result of road traffic collisions, with other reasons including falls, industrial accidents and equestrian-related injuries. www.scaa.org.uk