Between 21 June to 23 September, the Great North Air Ambulance Service's critical care teams were activated to more than 600 incidents in the North East, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Cumbria, Scotland and the Isle of Man. This is an increase of more than 50 incidents compared to last year's summer, and it is expected this number will continue to rise as the charity aims to operate 24/7 in the foreseeable future.

The teams, which include a doctor and a specialist advanced trauma paramedic, are based in Eaglescliffe in the UK's North East and Penrith in Cumbria. Its fleet of AS365 helicopters covers an area of more than 8,000 square miles.

Since January, GNAAS has been operating seven nights a week in the North East and hopes to soon offer the same level of service in Cumbria, where it currently operates four nights a week.

Outside the UK, GNAAS has also been working alongside Manx Care since March 2022, to trial a new service to transfer seriously injured or unwell patients by helicopter from the Isle of Man directly to the UK for emergency medical treatment.

Andy Mawson, director of operations at GNAAS, says: "We are responding to more and more incidents due to the expansion of our service, and we are fully committed to delivering 24/7 care to people in need across the region. We strongly believe that everyone should have access to hospital-standard care, no matter what time of day it is, but this is only achievable with the help and support of the public.

"Unfortunately, due to the cost of living crisis, raising funds for our charity has become increasingly challenging. One of the ways people can support us is by taking part in our raffle, which has a top prize of £10,000."