The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) responded to nearly 600 incidents during the summer.
From 21 June to 22 September, the charity’s critical care teams, which are based in Eaglescliffe in the North East, and Penrith in Cumbria, responded to 578 incidents.
This included 339 in the North East, 173 in Cumbria, 36 in Northumberland, 10 in Scotland, 12 in Yorkshire, five in the Isle of Man, and three in Lancashire.
The summer is one of GNAAS’ busiest periods of the year, as the warmer months encourages more people to take part in outdoor activities, such as hiking, countryside walks, and playing sports.
There’s also a higher amount of people travelling by car or on a motorcycle for their holidays, day trips and visits to family and friends.
Cardiac arrests and road traffic collisions were the most common types of incidents responded to by the charity over the summer, followed by falls, medical incidents and assaults.
GNAAS currently needs to raise £9.3m a year to remain operational and in response they’ve launched their Take Flight Raffle to help fund their life-saving missions.
The raffle gives the public the chance to win a tropical holiday and cash prizes just in time for Christmas.
The top prize is a dream getaway to the Caribbean, which includes a two-week stay for up to four guests in a beautiful apartment set along the palm-lined shores of Glitter Bay, Barbados, with £2,000 towards flights.
There are also two cash prizes of £2,000 and £500 up for grabs.
Joe Garcia MBE, chief executive officer at GNAAS, said: “Every day our highly skilled critical care team are on standby ready to respond to the region’s most ill and injured patients. By participating in our raffle, you’ll be helping our team continue to provide advanced care to thousands of people every year, while also having the chance to win incredible prizes.”
The raffle will close on 28 November and the winners will be drawn two weeks later on 12 December.
Tickets can be bought by visiting https://gna.as/raffle_2025 or calling 01325 487263.