Drop in donations - concerns raised as Air Ambulance Week launches in the UK

Throughout the week, Air Ambulances UK, an organisation supporting air ambulances across the UK, will highlight how the UK’s regional air ambulance charities save lives every day across the UK by bringing the emergency department to the incident scene of some of the UK’s most critically ill and injured patients.

Dispatching to 70 missions a week

One of the charities taking part in Air Ambulance week is Midlands Air Ambulance. Its specialist team of critical care paramedics, consultant doctors, pilots, engineers, and dispatchers provide pre-hospital emergency service, wherever it is needed.

Each day, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity attends an average of ten lifesaving missions across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, the West Midlands and Worcestershire. This means that across the week it will be dispatched to approximately 70 missions.

Despite this, the charity is an emergency service funded almost entirely by the public. Each of the charity’s air ambulance missions costs approximately £2,500 and the critical care car missions cost an average of £224. All missions are entirely funded by donations, as the charity does not receive government funding.

Responding to the Covid-19 pandemic

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, air ambulance charities have faced many challenges including a significant drop in donations as the economic effects of the pandemic took hold. Air ambulances across the UK have not only continued to provide lifesaving treatment but have also played a vital role on the frontline response to Covid-19, with many of Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s crew being redeployed back to NHS roles.

Emma Gray, Fundraising and Marketing Director for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, said: “Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have faced many challenges, including a significant drop in donations as the economic effects of the pandemic take hold.”