STRETCHED NHS hospitals and the downgrading of A& E departments will lead to a massive demand on air ambulances in the future, the chief executive of the Kent Air Ambulance has warned.

David Philpott, chief executive of the Kent Air Ambulance, and chairman of the new Association of Air Ambulance Charities, said the role of air ambulances would have to grow as more hospitals downgraded A & E departments - proposals currently out for consultation by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust for Maidstone Hospital.

Mr Philpott made the claim as he announced the association’s intention to campaign on a national level.

Mr Philpott said: "There will be an inevitable need for patients top be airlifted in future, since the distances to specialist hospitals and emergency departments will certainly be greater - much too far for land ambulances to cover efficiently.

"Add to this the over-demand in some intensive care units and suddenly air ambulances become indispensable for the rapid movement of critically ill patients. As such, it’s about time that we were taken more seriously."

The association, which was formed earlier this year, represents all 16 of the country’s independent air ambulance charities.

Mr Philpott said the days when air ambulances were on the edge of healthcare were long gone and now they generated £25million a year in donations.

He added that, because the ambulances did not receive government funding, it meant they could champion the patients’ cause, without fear of recrimination.