22.07.19
Air ambulance charities awarded £10m funding
Nine air ambulance charities across England will receive a share of £10m funding, allowing them to benefit from new equipment and improved facilities.
The nine air ambulance charities receiving part of the government funding are:
- East Anglian Air Ambulance
- Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust
- London’s Air Ambulance
- Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust
- Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust
- Great Western Air Ambulance Charity
- Devon Air Ambulance Trust
- MAGPAS Air Ambulance
- Midlands Air Ambulance Charity
A total of 14 of the 18 invited air ambulance charities submitted applications for their share of the funding, with bids of up to £2m for improvement projects, which were then put through several stages of assessment to decide which bids were deliverable and offered the best value for money.
The funding will be used to improve the charities’ facilities across England, including modernising operational facilities at seven airbases, providing a state-of-the-art new helicopter for Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust and providing immersive interactive training suits to better prepare crews.
Air ambulance critical emergency services are not funded by the NHS, although they receive some support from NHS ambulance services which prove them with clinical staff and equipment.
Charitable donations from the public cover costs of keeping the services running.
Health minister Stephen Hammond said: “Air ambulance crews work under extreme pressure in situations where every second counts.
“This one-off funding to help provide world-class facilities and equipment recognises the integral role they play in our health service.
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“Air ambulance charities rely heavily on generous donations from members of the public and typical fundraising activities for their life-saving work and they deserve our enormous gratitude.”
Paula Martin, chairman of the Association of Air Ambulances, added: “The air ambulance charities welcome this support from the Department of Health and Social Care.
“The £10m which was announced in the Autumn Budget statement has been extremely well received and has enabled charities to bring forward capital projects to further enhance the level of care they deliver to patients.”