£3.6 million awarded to Air Ambulances in the East of England

19^th July 2019

£3.6 million awarded to Air Ambulances in the East of England

Air Ambulances in the East of England are to receive more than a third of a recent Government cash boost for air ambulances across England.

Between them, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) with £1.5 million, Magpas Air Ambulance with £1.34 million and East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) with £800,000, received £3.6 million of the £10 million set aside by Chancellor Philip Hammond to help the 18 Air Ambulance charities in England with capital projects.

Within his statement last year the Chancellor said: “Across the length and breadth of England, our air ambulance services work tirelessly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to get those with life-threatening illnesses and injuries to the expert medical care they need. They do a fantastic job and today I am making £10 million of funding to help them go on doing so.”

EHAAT will use this one-off grant to help pay for the Charity’s planned new airbase at North Weald, which is to cost in the region of £4 million.

Jane Gurney, Chief Executive Officer of EHAAT said: “We are delighted to receive this contribution from Government. It will mean that some of the funds initially put aside for our new premises at North Weald can now be used to help develop and improve the life-saving service we provide for patients. We value the support of the communities we serve and are thankful for their continued support.”

-ENDS-

Photograph: Jane Gurney, CEO of EHAAT

For more information please contact Gavin Sherriff, PR Officer, on 0345 2417 690.

Notes to Editor:

• Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) is a Charity that provides a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas.
• The service is provided free of charge but, unlike NHS emergency services, the Charity receives no direct funding from the Government or National Lottery. It costs in excess of £750,000 every month to keep the service operational and cover all charitable costs, and this would not be possible without the generosity and goodwill of people and businesses of Essex, Hertfordshire and beyond.
• Each of the Charity’s HEMS teams consist of two Pilots, a Pre-hospital Care Doctor and a Critical Care Paramedic.
• These teams, made up of highly-skilled individuals, tended to 1,491 patients in 2018 and are the backbone of your local life-saving Charity.
• The fleet, consisting of two Air Ambulances, and four Rapid Response Vehicles (RRVs - cars) operates seven days a week from 7am to 9pm. After sunset, the Critical Care Team continues to provide the service using Rapid Response Vehicles. These vehicles carry the same life-saving equipment as the helicopters.
• In addition, a Rapid Response Vehicle is operational on a Friday and Saturday evening from 6pm until 7am with a Pre-hospital Care Doctor and Critical Care Paramedic. This means the Charity’s Critical Care Teams are available continuously from 7am on Friday through until 9pm on Sunday.

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