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 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 provides Ireland’s only charity 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.

Since then, our crew have been tasked over 1,300 times.

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 medical needs, not just the closest geographically.

We rely heavily on the fundraising efforts and genorosity of our dedicated supporters to provide this service.

Our Mission

Our mission is to save lives.

From the base in North Cork, the Irish Community Air Ambulance can put a 25,000 km² area within 30 minutes of emergency medical care. We bring hope to those who need it most- saving lives by saving time.

Our Impact

Our Air Ambulance Crew were tasked to 490 incidents across 13 counties in our first full year of operation in 2020, which increased to 512 incidents in 2021, over 14 counties. Our #Helimed92 crew have been tasked to over 325 medical emergencies in the first 4 months of this year alone showing an increasing need for the service.

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 the community can 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. 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 needs.