About Us

Irish Community Air Ambulance are committed to providing safe, effective, and timely emergency pre hospital care to those seriously ill or injured in Ireland. We are Irelands first and only charity funded Air Ambulance service and we also operate a fleet of ground services throughout the country.

Who We Are

Launched in July 2019 the Irish Community Air Ambulance is Ireland’s
only charity funded Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS).
We are tasked by the National Ambulance Service and operate during
‘daylight hours’ 365 days a year from our base in Rathcoole in North
Cork.

Our Air Ambulance is staffed by a team of Advanced Paramedics and
EMTs from the National Ambulance Service together with our pilots.
We treat some of the most critically ill and injured patients, bringing
them to the hospital that is best suited to their life-saving needs, not
just the closest geographically.

We do not receive government funding and so we rely heavily on the fundraising efforts of our dedicated supporters.

Our Mission

Our mission is to save lives.

Irish Community Air Ambulance can bring casualties to the hospital that best suits their life saving needs, not just the closest geographically. From the base in North Cork, the ICAA Charity Air Ambulance can put a 25,000km2 area within 30 minutes of emergency medical care. The Air Ambulance is staffed by advanced paramedics and EMTs from the National Ambulance Service.

Saving lives by saving time.

Our Impact

We have been tasked to 490 incidents across 13 counties during 2020, which was our first full year in operation. Click here to read more about our impact.

How does Irish Community Air Ambulance work?

When you call Ireland’s emergency numbers, 999 or 112, to report a life-threatening medical emergency, an ambulance will be dispatched from the nearest hospital. At the same time, our volunteer doctors in their community may also be notified and will be dispatched if they can be of assistance.

If the emergency requires the Air Ambulance due to the severity of the patients injuries, or the patient being located in a very rural part of Ireland then we will be dispatched (callsign HeliMed92).

Volunteer GP’s

We have funded a valuable network of Volunteer GP’s. The Volunteer Doctors network comes under the governance of UCD Centre for Emergency Medical Sciences under the MERIT 3 programme. These Volunteer Doctors respond in their own communities, to serious life-threatening calls. The interventions these doctors can perform can be critical for the patients outcome.

Rapid Response Vehicles

In addition, Irish Community Air Ambulance has rolled out charity funded Rapid Response Vehicles (RRV’s) nationwide that were developed to support the National Ambulance Service. The RRVs are placed with a volunteer GP in areas of high need.

Air Ambulance

Building on our experience with the network of Volunteer GP’s and Rapid Response Vehicles, Irish Community Air Ambulance successfully launched Ireland’s first dedicated and charity funded Air Ambulance on the 30th July 2019.

Based out of North Cork, Irish Community Air Ambulance (callsign Helimed92) is an asset of the National Ambulance Service and responds to the most serious trauma and medical emergencies when tasked. In the first year of service, over 490 missions have been tasked. We offer a vital lifesaving service, bringing advanced paramedics from the National Ambulance Service to the roadside, farm or home within minutes of the incident. Most critically, the Air Ambulance can then bring the casualty to the hospital that best suits their life saving needs, not just the closest geographically.