THE CHILDREN’S Air Ambulance (CAA) has received a £2million cash injection from the Government to help buy a second helicopter.
The Coventry Airport-based charity, which assists in transporting young and vulnerable patients across the country, is looking to expand – allowing pilots and paramedics to deliver a quicker and more efficient service.
With each helicopter costing in the region of £9million, and the equipment inside some £250,000, the CAA relies entirely on donations to keep flying.
Richard Clayton, director of operations at the charity, said as a charity the CAA had to diversify to keep the income flowing.
“We are a successful charity and have managed to weather the storm of the recession – we have done this because we are always looking at new ways of raising money.
“We don’t take any direct NHS funding, even for our services.
“We work closely with corporate sponsors such as Mercedes Benz and also have 34 charity shops across the region.”
Though the helicopters may look conventional from the outside, inside they are fitted with life-saving equipment.
Mr Clayton continued: “The key difference between the standard air ambulance and our child specific helicopter is what we call the ‘baby pod’.
“The pod is used for our smaller patients, however should we be put in the position where we can’t fly, due to the weather or other factors, our baby pod can be linked up immediately to an ambulance meaning there’s no delay to the patients treatment.
“The system we’ve created has been designed and certified by ourselves – you cannot simply purchase the equipment online.”
For pilot John Murray there is always the added pressure of carrying a young patient.
He said: “We haven’t got the option that a corporate set-up have where they can land in a field and wait for the weather to get better.
“We’ll look at the shape and size of a landing area and consider the surface, camber, entry and exit.
“Sometimes for example in the winter you can have a large open ploughed field – however you can’t land there as you’ll simply sink.
“There’s all sorts of various considerations you have to take into account when flying an aircraft – particularly one that is carrying patients.”
Paramedic Paul Mullins has been part of the team for five years – and says he find the job very rewarding.
He added: “I come from an ambulance background – in this job I’m working at the top end of my skill level.
“It’s the team-work that inspires me as well as the people that I’m working with.
“We’ve occasionally had people come into the office and thank us for saving their life – that’s the best part of my job specifically.”
MEP Daniel Dalton, who lives in Kenilworth, popped along to the CAA’s Baginton base at the same time as The Observer
He added: “The Children’s Air Ambulance is a fantastic charity doing a fantastic job and truly worthy of the recognition given to by the Chancellor in his recent budget.”
Visit www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk for further details.
