MODEL RELEASED. Air ambulance treatment. Paramedic preparing a patient before loading her onto an air ambulance. He is placing a headphone-microphone on the patient's head to allow communication while the air ambulance is airborne. An air ambulance is a helicopter equipped with life-support systems and staff for emergency medical cases. It provides a rapid response to casualties in inaccessible locations, as it can perform vertical take-offs and landings in confined spaces. This is the Essex Air Ambulance. It serves the county of Essex in England. The helicopter (in background) is an EC135 Eurocopter, and entered service in 2003.