While we have all become used to the emergency helicopters that come in to take away the patients who are badly injured in some very nasty accidents, not very many of us know the history of the air medical service. What seems like a relatively new service actually has roots that go back to the First World War and have progressed to the services we all take for granted today. During World War 1 several different military organizations made use of the primitive aircraft of the day as flying ambulances as a way to move the most seriously wounded away from the front lines. In 1928 first known air medical services ever known to exist came into being in the Australian outback. This service would later go on to be called the Royal Doctor Flying Service and was run as a non-profit organization. Its chief role was to provide both routine and emergency medical care for those who lived out in the remote areas of Australia. This often included regular doctor care as many of these people lived in areas where the nearest medical facility could take days to reach. In 1934 the first medical air ambulance service in Africa was started by Marie Marvingt in Morocco.

Once again the reason for establishing this service was the lack of available medical facilities and the country's rugged terrain. As a qualified nurse Marie Marvingt used her experience as the first woman to fly as a combat bomber pilot to establish this service. Once she had established the air medical service in Morocco she turned her attention to helping establish similar services around the world. By 1936 the military had established its own air medical service which saw heavy action transporting wounded troops during the Spanish Civil War. Many different aircraft were used to transport the wounded combat troops to Germany for proper medical care. It was not until 1946 that the first civil air medical service was launched in North America. It began in Regina, Canada and is still in operation today after some 60 years.

One year later the US saw its first air medical service, the Schaefer Air Service which began in Los Angeles under the ownership of J. Walter Schaefer and became the first air ambulance service to be FAA certified in the United States. Aircraft are not always the best way to transport patients and in 1970 the first German helicopter service began with one helicopter at the Harlaching Hospital in Munich. Today there are hundreds of helicopters being used worldwide to transport emergency patients to trauma units saving thousands of lives every year. Today the air medical ambulance service has grown to include thousands of fixed wing and rotor aircraft across the globe. Companies like VIP Air Ambulance have the skilled staff and aircraft necessary to transport any type of trauma patient anywhere in the world at a moment's notice. These craft and staff have the latest equipment and training to make sure that whenever possible the patient arrives at a medical treatment facility in time for the doctors to take care of their needs and return them back to their lives fully recovered.