HELP Appeal gives DSAA funds

The HELP Appeal, a UK-based charity that provides funding for air ambulance base and hospital helipads, gave the operator £26,787 for new runway lights, helipad lighting and a new windsock.

The lights, due to be installed this month, will improve reliability and performance over the previous system, while making night operations safer. The lighting of helipads and runways is mandated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

“A reliable, aviation lights system is of course critical for [us] to be able to effectively and efficiently run night operations and so be available to patients when they need us the most,” said Charles Hackett, CEO of DSAA. “Our thanks to the HELP Appeal for their support, which will enable us to continue bringing pre-hospital, critical care to patients across our region.”

“Emergencies happen at any time of the day or night, so funding state of the art lighting, along with an illuminated windsock, will ensure quicker and safer take offs and landings for the air ambulance crew, enabling them to reach a critically ill patient as soon as possible,” added Simon Jones, Aviation Technical Advisor for the HELP Appeal.

The HELP Appeal announced in June 2022 that over 20,000 landings have been made on helipads that they funded.