By Fergus Dalgarno, Head of Bike Legal at McHale & Co Solicitors
Air Ambulance week ran from 8th September to 14th September this year, a week where there were many events to bring the 21 individual Air Ambulance Charities into the public eye and remind us all what fantastic work they do.
At the weekend, our head of the bike legal team, Fergus Dalgarno, went up to Scarborough to watch the bike racing at Oliver’s Mount, the only real road motorcycle racing in England. One thing you will see at every event here is a huge Yorkshire Air Ambulance stall telling people about the Air Ambulance and raising money.
Did you know that the Air Ambulance service receives NO Government funding whatsoever. Every penny that buys, maintains and puts the Air Ambulance in the air is donated by members of the public. Every call out costs over £5.000.00 and that does not include buying the helicopters which also work in conjunction with their land cars. They respond to over 48,000 missions every year, that is about 134 flights every day!
Fantastic charities are always worth a donation as you never know when you might need them, and the lifesaving work they do. One example of this was when the Isle of Man Air Ambulance was sent for one of my clients and diverted mid-air for a second one of my clients!
Sometimes accidents occur in remote country roads or places where it would be difficult for the NHS to send ambulances to but as resources are not publicly funded, it makes it hard for the network to assist. They land fast at the scene of road traffic collisions, falls at home, strokes, cardiac arrests, sports injuries, and industrial incidents.
The National Children’s Air Ambulance works over 11 different counties and will assist in transferring critically ill babies and children across the country to different hospitals. They cost £5,500 per trip on average and again they do not receive funding from the government or National Lottery funding.
How you can help
If you wish to donate, then you are able to do so by using this link: https://www.airambulancesuk.org/support-us/donate-now/
