The Scottish Air Ambulance Service, 1928–1948

Abstract

Scotland’s air ambulance service has been recognized as a public service ever since the 1948 creation of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS). This article traces the history of the service from its beginnings as the Flying Doctor service, ferreting patients in remote locations to urban medical facilities. By 1933, the Flying Doctors formally become the Scottish Air Ambulance Service, receiving financial support from both the central and local governments. The article focuses on the development of the service as Scotland’s principle means of air ambulance evacuation from 1933 to 1948. Other topics discussed include: 1) how doctors practicing in the Scottish Highlands and on adjacent islands recognize the importance of the service, 2) the influence of the service on the development of in-flight nursing prior to the creation of NHS, and 3) funding the service during the period. The author notes that the concept of the service to harness the potential of the airplane in bringing isolated small communities and doctors together across Scotland’s rugged terrain has been copied by other relief organizations. Noted here are the Mission Aviation Fellowship (established 1945), African Medical and Research Foundation (1956), and Aviation sans Frontieres (1968).