There was a slight reduction in the number of mission carried out by the air ambulance based at Custume Barracks last year compared to during the height of the pandemic.
The Defence Forces Annual Report reveals a total of 310 missions were undertaken by the special medical helicopter last year- down from 366 in 2020.
The HSE's Emergency Aeromedical Support (EAS) service operates on a daily basis out of Custume Barracks, Athlone,
It provides rapid patient transport to an appropriate facility where the land transit time, given the patient's condition and its severity, would not be clinically acceptable.
The Defence Forces report for 2021 shows a total of 310 successful missions - resulting in a flight time of 382.49 hours.
In 2020, a total of 446 hours were logged from 366 missions.
Overall last year 34 EAS missions were for paediatric care, 164 classified as trauma and 112 as medical.
The members of the Defence Forces were also involved in other activities in the Shannonside region, including helping Gardaí conduct a search in Ballymahon in June of last year and searching a sewer system in Athlone in July of last year - events which required 13 and 24 personnel days in total.
