Words by Smiley Team
Once a thing of fiction, gadgets worthy of Bond’s Q might be part of our lives sooner than you think, thanks to the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).
The service has partnered with renewable energy company Ørsted, and Gravity Industries, to trial jet suit paramedics.
The idea is to have paramedics who can travel to places that can’t be reached by road, but might be difficult for helicopters to land, for example, in dense forests. Rather than helicopters landing further away and paramedics having to travel on foot, wasting precious time for badly injured patients, the jet suit parademics would mean someone can arrive quickly and perform life-saving triage.
“We think the Jet Suit paramedic will speed up the response to some hard-to-access patients in the Lake District, and allow us to reach more patients,” said Andy Mawson, Director of Operations at GNAAS. “But in order to know for sure, we are putting it to the test.”
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Gravity Industries is the first organisation of its kind, bringing what was once only science fiction to life. Trials began in 2020, and since then Gravity Industries has made huge changes and improvements to the Jet Suit equipment, including more powerful turbine engines, and 3D printing the whole suit from polypropylene.
“Our drive for creating the Suit came from wanting to challenge what seemed like the impossible and to now see it being used for areas of Special Forces mobility and First Response Search & Rescue, it’s very exciting,” said Richard Browning, Founder and Chief Test Pilot at Gravity Industries. “We’re enjoying working in a new sector and helping the front-line workers in clean energy.”
Partnering with Ørsted means not only is this life-saving concept pushing the boundaries of science, but it is doing so in a sustainable, eco-friendly way.
“The most recent trials in the area, held at the start of the month, were a great success and showed how far and how quickly the Jet Suit can reach otherwise inaccessible locations,” said Andy. “Thanks to Ørsted, this incredible dream could become a reality.”
DONATE: Give money to support the vital work done by the Great North Air Ambulance Service, so they can help those that need it.
SUPPORT: Enter the Great North Air Ambulance Service’s raffle and raise money for air ambulance care at the same time as potentially winning some great prizes!
