life - FEATURE
Air Ambulance
to the rescue!
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Air Ambulance Charity Appeal was
launched in October 2005. Once
operational on the 1 July 2007, the
Air Ambulance will fly typically two
or three missions every day - many
of them life saving. The Hampshire
and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance
Charity relies entirely on voluntary
donations, and for this vital service
to succeed, it needs to raise more
than £65,000 every month:
that’s over £2000 every day.
None of us know when we may
need its help. Airborne within
three minutes of a 999 call, the
Air Ambulance will be able to
reach most of Hampshire and Isle
of Wight within fifteen minutes,
and it can land in an area half
the size of a tennis court.
The aircraft will be a Bolkow
105DBS which will be leased, the
cost of which, not only includes
the helicopter but also the pilot
and engineer. The aircraft will carry
22
two NHS Paramedics, whom will
have undergone a demanding
selection process. The aircraft will
carry life saving equipment from a
defibrillator to a cardiac monitor.
The aim of the service is to get to
the patient as quickly as possible,
treat and stabilize the patient and
then take them, according to their
condition to the most appropriate
hospital. When attending calls the
Paramedics on the aircraft are an
integral team within the ambulance
services and as such at times will
liaise with other emergency services.
Why do we need the Air
Ambulance? Not only are we
surrounded by water, patients
may need to be transferred to the
mainland for specialist treatment,
and even here on the Island we have
traffic problems, more so in the
summer when the roads become
more congested, the helicopter will
be able to over fly these problems
and ensure patients are transported
to hospital
as quickly
as possible,
which will
no doubt
save lives.
Rosemarie
Norman was
appointed
as one of
three Project
Support
Officers for the
Charity, her area is mainly the Island,
however as they work as a team she
does venture over to the mainland.
She knows herself the benefits of
this service as her husband, Allan,
was attached to the London aircraft
‘HEMS’ – Helicopter Emergency
Medical Service, for three years.
As well as giving talks to local
clubs, associations etc, Rosemarie
and her volunteers attend as many
events as possible whenever invited.
It is very important to be present at
them, as it not only gives a chance
for fundraising but also a place for
the public to come and find out
more about the service and how they
can help, either by becoming one of
her important volunteers or holding
fundraising events themselves. The
Island residents are very responsive
and helpful but there is always room
for more volunteers as we are being
invited to more events and talks and
never want to turn them down.
We also have textile recycling bins
all over the Island, from Sainsbury’s
supermarket to Brading Car Park,
mobile phone recycling envelopes
are also available. They have already
been requested by some schools
and taken in by local mobile phone
shops. Not only are we encouraging
recycling but we are raising money.
Like many other charities the
Air Ambulance have their own
weekly lottery. There are in excess
of 14,000 members, two thousand
of which are Islanders, with the
top prize being £500 each week.
Rosemarie has had the pleasure
of telling quite a few members
on the Island they have won first
prize, and would love to tell more.
To find out more about how to
become a member of the lottery,
become a volunteer, make a
donation, find out more about the
recycling textile banks or hold or
invite us to an event, you can contact
us either through our website www.
hampshireandiowairambulance.org.
uk or ring us on 01962 892626.
Fact Box
> Our air ambulance is in good
company. We are now part
of a national team of 17, all
funded by public money.
> Ambulances are fully equipped
with a range of life-saving
equipment including oxygen,
stretcher, suction, a vital signs
monitor, defibrillator, ventilator,
spinal board, burns kit, traction
splints and paediatric kit.
> Ambulances use nearly
500,000 gallons of fuel in a
year (30 gallons per mission).
> More than 20m is spent on
providing our life saving service
- the majority of it is spent
in the helicopter industry.
> Ambulance charities are
represented at over 1,500
events each year., reaching
in the region of 2.5million
people across Britain.
> For the Charity Commission, air
ambulance charities collectively
generate an annual income of
£25m or £70,000 every day.
> Ambulance lotteries raise
£5m a year from more than
100,000 members.
> Ambulances collectively
undertake 17,500 missions
in a year, making them
Britain’s busiest voluntary
emergency services.
> Ambulances work with
35 pilots and medical teams
encompassing consultants,
specialist registrars,
GP’s, emergency care
practitioners, paramedics,
technicians and nurses.
> The first air ambulance
charity was established in
1987 to serve Cornwall.
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net