This week’s meeting brought Mark Butler who volunteers for the North West Air Ambulance Service.

I’m sure you’ll have heard about the Air Ambulance Service and maybe even received care from them. But how many know that here in the North West our flying heroes receive no government funding? This means that the 8 million people (raising to 10 million in the summer) from the South Lakes to Cheshire, are all dependant on the charity to ensure we can reach the best medical facilities as fast and safely as possible, should we ever need to.

 This is even more surprising when you hear about the kind of money it takes to keep the choppers and medical staff in the air:

 £25 buys a blanket

£250 for a Medical Bag (without equipment)

£450 for a specialised flying uniform

£2.5k for crash helmets

Alternatively, £3.50 keeps the helicopter in the air for 60 seconds!

 In all it takes an incredible £6million per year to keep the three NW helicopters staffed, kitted out and ready to fly at a moment’s notice.

 Mark told us about how quick that ’moment’ actually is – from initial call out to getting into the air takes 4 minutes. The highly trained paramedics  then assist the pilot in navigating to the incident while the trauma doctor is gathering essential  information on the patient‘s condition. Based in Preston and Wythenshawe the teams can reach anywhere in the patch in an impressive 15 minutes. This is vital to ensure the most vulnerable patients receive intervention within the so-called Golden Hour, where lives are hanging in the balance.

 Most incidents which require an air ambulance are road traffic accidents, sporting incidents and cardiac arrest. In many of the these situations being transferred by helicopter to the best medical facility will ensure the patient has the best chance of a positive outcome with minimum stress – for example if spinal injuries are suspected.

 We were all really inspired by Mark’s talk – if you’d like to find out more or donate please see www.nwaa.net. They also have a Lottery which for just £1 a week you can support your local life savers.