HAMPSHIRE and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance has unveiled a new brand identity, central to which is a new charity logo.

The launch took place at Thruxton airbase, to coincide with the charity’s 10th anniversary.

Since the charity’s first operational flight in 2007, the service that the air ambulance provides to the community has evolved considerably and the new brand identity reflects these changes.

In January, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance became one of the first air ambulance services in the country to begin night operations.

The sun and moon-shaped graphics incorporated in the new logo illustrate the fact that the charity’s life-saving service is now available day and night, 365 days per year.

A medical cross at the centre of the charity logo represents the air ambulance critical care teams who bring their lifesaving care to the most seriously ill or injured people in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Highly skilled crews of doctors, critical care paramedics and pilots can be at the scene of an incident within minutes, ready to deliver the same level of care that you would expect from a hospital emergency department. A full range of lifesaving equipment is carried on board, including two state-of-the-art ultrasound devices and a blood transfusion kit, helping to save valuable seconds in the vital golden hour.

The new branding will be carried on the body of the air ambulance, as well as on the charity’s new critical care team vehicle, which became operational this week.

An extension of the service that Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance provides to the sick and injured people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the critical care team vehicle will be crewed by a team of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance doctors and paramedics and will have parallel capability to the air ambulance.

The vehicle, a specially converted Volvo XC90, will initially operate seven days a week, during the day, providing the same enhanced care as that delivered by the helicopter, but it is now able to get to the more difficult to reach urban areas.

Additionally, the vehicle will provide a vital training platform for pre-hospital emergency doctors and paramedics in order to grow sustainable numbers of these highly specialised professionals.

Alex Lochrane, chief executive of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, said: “As a charity, our brand identity needs to keep pace with our developing service.

“It was clear to us that it was time to update our original logo with one that reflects our commitment to providing the highest level of emergency care outside of a hospital environment, day and night, 365 days a year.”

Accompanying the new logo is the strap line: ‘Ordinary people.  Extraordinary care. Supported by You’.

Mr Lochrane added: “As Her Majesty the Queen said in her Christmas message, charities today are characterised by ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Our critical care teams are made up of ordinary people who bring exceptional pre-hospital care to those who need the highest level of urgent medical treatment, whenever or wherever they are.

“We can only deliver this service thanks to the outstanding support that we receive every day from the communities that we serve.

“Without their support, we simply could not continue to save lives.”

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance flies seven days a week and attends an average of two to three missions a day, many of them lifesaving.

The charity receives no government, statutory or national lottery funding for routine operations, and is entirely dependent on donations received from members of the public, companies and grant-making bodies to keep the air ambulance flying and saving lives.