Major Trauma Centres: Helipads

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing this debate. I am grateful to be able to speak today.

As the Member of Parliament for Truro and Falmouth, I know at first hand how indispensable our air ambulance services are to rural and coastal communities across Cornwall and the south-west. The reason I came to Cornwall was because I was married to a naval pilot who came to fly search and rescue planes for the Navy there. I remember one incident when I took my newly born baby to the crew room to eat broken biscuits with the crew. I went to the bathroom and when I came back, the baby was lying in the middle of the floor on his own—they had all gone out for a shout. That was quite a thing. Of course, that is no longer part of the Navy’s job, and the hon. Member for Strangford talked about the charities that do this amazing work now.

The coastal and rural nature of Truro and Falmouth gives my constituency its beauty, but also makes it dangerous when someone injures themselves. When a critical incident occurs in Cornwall, whether it is on a rural road, a cliff path or one of our farms, the speed with which a patient can get to specialist clinical care can absolutely be the difference between life and death. Earlier this year, I wrote to the Secretary of State about fuel resilience and operational safeguards for our air ambulance charities. The basis of that message remains the same today: our air ambulances are an essential component of NHS emergency care pathways, and their operational needs must be treated with the seriousness and national policy support that they deserve.

Cornwall Air Ambulance is so well supported by the local population—it does a fantastic job—and now has two helicopters that have been fundraised by the local population, because we realise how crucial it is to our communities. That is why I strongly support the call in this debate for a consistent national policy to establish safeguarded 24/7 on-site helipad access at major trauma centres and specialist hospitals across the UK. In Cornwall, we have seen considerable local progress and investment in the Royal Cornwall hospital at Treliske. However, key challenges still remain locally, in ensuring that outstanding infrastructure works and the access routes at Treliske are concluded without delay, and in ensuring that operational access and refuelling, both on site and at bases such as Cornwall Airport Newquay, are fully supported and future-proofed.

When 83% of the public expect major hospitals to be able to receive air ambulance patients at any time via an on-site helipad, we cannot rely on a patchwork of local arrangements or leave critical infrastructure recommendations unfulfilled due to administrative transitions in trusts, for example, or highways authorities. A national policy will provide much-needed clarity on safeguarding helipads from surrounding planning developments, standardise how 24/7 clinical need is assessed and help to unlock target funding when charitable support needs national backing. That would have a lifesaving impact in Cornwall’s rural and coastal communities. This is about equality of access, removing unnecessary transfer delays and ensuring that wherever someone falls critically ill in our country, the air ambulance crew can land safely on site, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To conclude, I urge the delivery of a consistent national policy to safeguard vital landing sites and ensure that our air ambulance crews can continue saving lives across Truro and Falmouth, Cornwall, the south-west and the entire country.