WHILE many will be staying home and seeing their loved ones over Christmas, the doctors, paramedics, pilots and dispatch assistants at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance will be ready to respond to life-threatening emergencies across the region.

Last Christmas, the charity responded to 148 potentially life-saving callouts throughout December, including 10 over Christmas eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

One of those who will be working on Christmas Day is HEMS Paramedic Sophia Rozario, who has been treating seriously ill and injured people with the charity since 2019.

"We are usually very busy around Christmas time," she told the Daily Echo.

"Sporting accidents are far fewer in number but, unfortunately, we do attend serious road traffic collisions, medical and self-harm incidents. It’s made me realise that Christmas can be a really tough time of year for some."

Working over the Christmas period isn’t unusual for Sophia. And neither is having to fit her personal life around her or her family’s demanding work schedule.

"My mum is a nurse, so when I was a kid it was normal to have a belated Christmas Day. My fiancé is also a paramedic, so as long as we get a couple of days over the festive period together, I don’t mind which day we celebrate."

READ MORE: Strep A: Hampshire survivor Alex Lewis sends message to parents

Daily Echo:

Day and night, 365 days a year, the team are ready to bring the hospital to patients in need of urgent critical care – ready to give them the best chance of survival.

Dr Simon Hughes, who worked on the helicopter on Boxing Day last year, added: "If the phone or the radio goes, we try to get airborne in four minutes. So, if we are midway through a turkey sandwich or a Christmas pudding, you need to be able to put that down and run out the door extremely quickly.

"Traditionally, we think of people sitting down to eat their lunch, drinking wine and relaxing but, sadly, horrible things can still happen."

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is a charity that relies entirely on the generosity from its supporters to keep flying and saving lives. The charity has so far responded to 1,621 emergency call-outs this year.

To donate, visit hiowaa.org/donate

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