International SOS in strategic partnership with London’s Air Ambulance
Global assistance company International SOS and the London’s Air Ambulance, UK, recently announced a strategic partnership for 2013 that will focus on securing additional funding for helicopter charity to sustain the vital life-saving services it delivers across England’s capital and support a number of key enhancements being made by the service. The partnership will see International SOS donating £25,000 to London’s Air Ambulance.
Global assistance company International SOS and the London’s Air Ambulance, UK, recently announced a strategic partnership for 2013 that will focus on securing additional funding for helicopter charity to sustain the vital life-saving services it delivers across England’s capital and support a number of key enhancements being made by the service. The partnership will see International SOS donating £25,000 to London’s Air Ambulance.
London’s Air Ambulance, which delivers an advanced trauma team to critically injured people in London by helicopter or rapid response ground vehicle, helped almost 2,000 patients last year and is keen to enhance its expert medical services that are delivered across the capital by adding a second helicopter, additional medical teams, and an enhanced research and innovation programme. International SOS said that as a leading medical assistance provider, it recognises the importance of these initiatives and is supporting the fundraising efforts.
International SOS regional managing director Andrew Skehel said of the partnership: “Our organisations have a lot in common, and we both understand the importance of providing expert medical support, so we’re pleased to join forces to share expertise, commission research, and promote better healthcare awareness and emergency treatment.”
Graham Hodgkin, CEO of London’s Air Ambulance said: “Thank you to International SOS for choosing us as their charity partner. As leaders in our respective fields, there are strong synergies between the services we deliver, and I see our new relationship as mutually beneficial, with a complementary focus on collaborative education and research. Each and every one of our supporters plays an integral role in allowing us to continue delivering advanced trauma care to those who need it, and ultimately, to help us save the lives of people from all over the world who visit, live or work in London.”
In related news, Hodgkin, a former executive with Deutsche Bank, has said he will aim to make use of his network of contacts in London to put funding for the air ambulance on a more secure footing, with the addition of a second helicopter key to the charity’s future. He told the Financial Times: “London is a city that can have up to 11 million people in it at any time. Instinctively, it feels vulnerable to have only one aircraft to do what we do.” Hodgkin also said: “Access to … corporate and high-net-worth clients would create a different dimension in terms of funding sustainability.”