Our highlights of 2024


It’s been a busy year for GNAAS, with record-high call-outs, award wins, and as always, our incredible supporters.

Here we reflect on some of the highlights of 2024:

Record high call-outs in 2023

In January we received the news that 2023 was our busiest year on record. More than 2,100 incidents were responded to by our critical care team across the North East, Cumbria and the Isle of Man. This was due to the expansion of our night-time service, as our rapid response vehicles were deployed nearly 300 times more last year in comparison to 2022. Read more about our call-outs here.

Game-changing training courses

When our critical care team aren’t on call, they’re busy organising realistic, immersive training sessions, so they know exactly how to handle complex cases, such as major incidents.

In November, Beamish Museum generously allowed us to use their grounds and buildings so our team could host high-impact simulations, featuring real people, lifelike injuries, and diverse scenarios.

The training exercise was in collaboration with the military and local emergency services, and designed to equip individuals who may respond to major incidents with the skills and experience needed to save lives when it matters most.

Girl Power at the Great North Run

The Great North Run is one of our biggest fundraising incomes, and the fact hundreds of GNAAS supporters are willing to train throughout the year and take on the World’s biggest half-marathon for our charity is simply mind-blowing.

Amongst the runners this year were 20 female air ambulance medics from across the UK who teamed up to tackle the run together.

You can read more about the “Fem in PHEM” running team here.

Award wins

We were absolutely thrilled to be chosen as Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster’s Charity of the Year at their awards ceremony.

Lee, our head of operations for Cumbria and the Isle of Man, was one of the attendees at the event alongside our specialist fundraiser Tasha.

Reflecting on the win, he said: “This prestigious award wasn’t just a nod to our hard work—it was a testament to the life-changing impact we make every day. To be celebrated in a region we are so deeply connected to was humbling and reaffirmed the importance of our mission.”

In the same month, our paramedic Hollie won the North East Chamber of Commerce’s Inspiring Female Award.

Hollie’s remarkable achievement is a testament to her dedication and excellence; she joined us in early 2022 at just 28, making her youngest female critical care paramedic at GNAAS, and she has since proven to be an invaluable member of our team. Her passion for her work shines through in everything she does, consistently going above and beyond in her role to make a difference. Read more about the incredible contributions Hollie has made here.

Every Vehicle, Every Heartbeat

In December we had the huge task of raising enough funds in a week to equip our 22 community engagement vehicles with life-saving defibrillators for five years.

Our “Every Vehicle, Every Heartbeat” campaign, in partnership with the Red Sky Foundation, had a target of raising £25,000, which would be doubled by Big Give.

On the final day we surpassed our target, meaning we raised enough money to have defibrillators installed in all of our charity vehicles, with two stationed at our bases.

We’re beyond grateful for everyone’s support, including our corporate supporters Max Out in the Lake District, Three Brothers Brew Shop, Lambton Estate, Kans + Kandy and Reed Foundation.

Incredible supporters

Everything we have achieved this year has been thanks to our incredible supporters who have been raising both funds and awareness for our charity. Some notable fundraisers from this year include David and Garry who rowed the Atlantic Ocean in 70 days, patient Claire Hughes completing a self-powered triathlon across the UK, Frank Barker who left a generous legacy donation of more than £80,000, and patient Corey Russell who ran the Great North Run with his dad just over a year after being involved in a life-threatening collision with a car.

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