THE County Air Ambulance HELP Appeal, the only charity in the country dedicated to funding hospital helipads and to ensuring patients with life threatening conditions get the fastest treatment possible, has given its third annual grant of £250,000 to the British Association for Immediate Care.
Divided into 32 regional schemes, the Association is a national network of medical, nursing and paramedic volunteers, who give up their free time to be on call to help NHS Ambulance Services, ensuring they get support for critical incidents 24 / 7. This third grant from the County Air Ambulance HELP Appeal, brings the total amount donated to £750,000.
All schemes across the country were invited to apply for a share of the latest £250,000 donation. Previous grant rounds have funded emergency response vehicles in different parts of the UK along with essential clinical and protective equipment. This round of funds has been similarly available with the focus being on capital equipment such as defibrillators and monitors – each costing in the region of £12,000 to £15,000.
Robert Bertram, Chief Executive of the County Air Ambulance HELP Appeal said:
“Our donations support these wonderful volunteers in making huge, practical improvements to their lifesaving services. New rapid response vehicles enable more medics to join their schemes, which increases the number of emergency incidents they can respond to. Meanwhile, new state-of-the-art technology for volunteers’ own vehicles, help them to arrive at a critical scene quickly and safely – a must during the winter months when driving conditions can be treacherous. I’m delighted that our funding this year will support patients directly through the purchase of lifesaving defibrillators and monitors.”
Tony Kemp, Chief Officer, British Association for Immediate Care said:
“The work of the British Association for Immediate Care has benefited so much from the previous two donations from the HELP Appeal and I am delighted that once again, on the back of what has been a very difficult 18-months, we are again beneficiaries of a further £250,000 donation. The work of the Association’s affiliated schemes has continued throughout the pandemic and in common with so many other areas of life, the cost of lifesaving equipment has increased. This donation, being shared by a number of schemes will ensure that their lifesaving work continues, we are so grateful to the HELP Appeal for their ongoing generosity.”
Paul Gates, Chairman, British Association for Immediate Care said:
“This year the grant will be used for a range of lifesaving equipment to be used as our volunteers respond to 999 calls for their local NHS Ambulance service.”
The County Air Ambulance HELP Appeal’s latest grant has been distributed to the following schemes, which so far totals £134,000:
- BASICS Dorset
- BASICS Essex
- BHECCS (Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire)
- BRAVO Medics (Bristol)
- CSI BASICS (Cheshire & Shropshire)
- LIVES (Lincolnshire)
- MARS BASICS (Mercia)
- SWIFT Medics (Wiltshire)
- West Yorkshire Medic Response Team
The remaining £116,000 will be distributed to schemes early next year.
Joe Blissett from LIVES in Lincolnshire said on receiving £10,000 which will fund dedicated blood transport bags for transporting blood to the scene of accidents across the county:
“Fantastic news…this project is going to save many lives every year.”
Junaid Mughal, speaking on behalf of the newly formed Beds and Herts Emergency Critical Care Scheme (BHECCS) said:
“This is fantastic news, it will help a new scheme like BHECCS go a long way. It’s an early Christmas present for us as this grant will definitely be put to good use serving the people of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.”
Gordon Tollefson, West Yorkshire Medic Response Team added:
“This grant from BASICS, enabled by a donation from the HELP appeal, allows us to go ahead with the purchase of the ventilator and this will be a major step for us in saving lives when West Yorkshire Medic Response Team is first on scene.”
