Monday with the Air Ambulance

  02 February 2010

This afternoon I visited the Leicestershire and Derbyshire Air Ambulance service at East Midlands Airport I was invite by Andy Williamson. The air ambulance service is funded by charitable donations and it needs £1.6m of funding each month to keep the helicopter serving our area flying. Huge numbers of volunteers across the two counties carry out vital fundraising work to ensure the service continues and thrives. Last year the Air ambulance was called out on 980 missions. The helicopter is called out by the NHS ambulance trust and uses paramedics seconded from the NHS. The Air Ambulance also employ their own doctors who also supply extra expertise at the scene of accidents and emergencies. The helicopter flies during daylight hours throughout the year and was called out to help rescue a man from Hinckley who had fallen through ice try to rescue his dog while I was touring the base.

The service in its current form has been based at East Midlands Airport for the past two years and it is seeking to raise funds to improve its infrastructure by building a hanger and replacing the portacabins its office are in with a permanent purpose built office facility. This investment is expected to cost in the region of £600k and will be a commitment for the long term to our area.

Amazingly I was told that despite its charitable status and the life saving work it performs the Air Ambulance is ineligible for lottery funding.

Following the return of the helicopter from is rescue mission I had the chance to travel in the helicopter for a trip to the Derby Royal infirmary to see how quickly casualties can be taken to hospital.

Interestingly the staff who run the service expressed a determination not to take Government funding and all the controls and targets that currently come with it, instead preferring to remain funded by donations and free to set their own goals and to run the service so that it is able to respond and to local needs. I think there is a lesson to be learnt there.