AHCP sponsors The Association of Air Ambulances

Friday, 18 November 2011 14:13  |  Liz Jones

For the past several years, the AHCP has provided sponsorship to a selected charity. This year, I am very pleased to announce that the chosen charity is The Association of Air Ambulances. Despite being one of the hardest-working voluntary emergency services in the UK, the charity is funded almost entirely by donations from the general public, organisations and local businesses, and the AHCP is delighted to support their mission.

The Association of Air Ambulances

The first Air Ambulance to commence operations within the UK was the helicopter serving the county of Cornwall, established in 1987, and is still known as the First Air Ambulance Charity. Since then the network of coverage by Air Ambulance helicopters has grown steadily year by year such that every county within mainland UK is now served. There are now 22 Air Ambulance Services operating within England and Wales. These are run by 18 independent Air Ambulance Charities, which between them operate over 30 Air Ambulance helicopters.

Flying 365 days a year in daylight hours - weather permitting - Air Ambulances attend incidents involving accidents and/or medical trauma. Collectively, the Air Ambulance network is the busiest voluntary emergency service in the country. However, the Air Ambulance Charities receive no direct Government or National Lottery funding and are almost entirely supported by voluntary donations from the general public, organisations and local businesses.

In 2007, an Air Ambulance Working Group (AAWG) was set up, facilitated by the Department of Health, to assist the Air Ambulance Charities and NHS Ambulance Trusts to develop an agreed set of standards for an excellent Air Ambulance Service. A document entitled ‘Framework for a High Performing Air Ambulance Service’ was published in 2008. For the first time in its history, the Air Ambulance Service has a Best Practice Industry Framework Document to refer to in order to deliver a consistently high standard of sound governance, operational management and clinical excellence.

The Association of Air Ambulances (AAA) is the national body representing the independent Air Ambulance Charities and the Ambulance Service Trusts that deploy the Air Ambulance helicopters. The Association was established in late 2008 to recognise formally the key part played by the Air Ambulance Services in the overall Emergency Response network within the UK. The AAA is actively using the Framework document to drive the future strategy for Air Ambulances within the UK.

The success of the Air Ambulance Services in providing a rapid response to life-threatening situations has already been clearly established. The importance of close collaboration between Ambulance Services and their local Air Ambulance operations is paramount in ensuring that patient well-being is the number one priority when responding to an incident. The Association will build on existing relationships between Air Ambulance Charities and the Ambulance Service to develop a continually improving Emergency Response network.