THE air ambulance covering Worcestershire is the first service in the country to have a £30,000 state-of-the-art helicopter control unit.

The charity, which has a base at Strensham, just past junction 8 of the M5, has recently taken delivery of a mobile command and control unit as part of its overall plan for responding to a major emergency incident.

Ian Clayton, county air ambulance operations manager, said the unit had been designed to “operate as a mobile support and command point in order to manage a safe and orderly flow of air ambulance flights, should a major emergency incident occur anywhere in the Midlands region”.

The county’s helicopter service currently operates three aircraft and provides a secondary service to neighbouring regions.

The £30,000 mobile command unit has been assigned to county air ambulance by West Midlands ambulance service to play a vital role when an accident happens.

The new unit is the first of its kind in the country. With room for two control staff, it is capable of monitoring and co-ordinating aircraft movements at the scene of a serious emergency situation.

Mr Clayton said: “Should county air ambulance be called upon to attend a major emergency situation, it is likely that air ambulances will also respond from all over the UK. It is therefore necessary to co-ordinate air safety at the scene and near receiving hospitals, and this is now possible by utilising our mobile command unit.”

He said: “The air service continues to work closely with West Midlands ambulance service to ensure county air ambulance plays a pivotal role in the planning and preparedness for serious emergency incidents in the area.”

The new unit will be held in a state of readiness at the RAF Cosford base of the county air ambulance.