The HELP Appeal donated the £250k funds following the air ambulance charity’s campaign 30 Years Saving Lives, which marked its 30th anniversary. The fundraising appeal, Saving Time Saving Lives, aimed to raise at least £1 million to re-develop the team’s helipad base and, as such, would allow the medics to respond even faster, improve training and ensure that crews have the facilities they need for their mental health and wellbeing.

The HELP Appeal’s donation was also joined by an additional £1.4 million from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Louise Robertshaw, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at London’s Air Ambulance Charity, said: “We had an ambitious target to raise £1 million during our 30th anniversary, and are delighted that the generous support from the HELP Appeal and the DHSC has meant we have almost doubled the amount we can use for redevelopment of our operational space. The money will enable our teams to continue to provide world-class rapid response care, every second of every day, and help find the next clinical developments to create the next generation of survivors.”

The funding will provide numerous new facilities for London’s Air Ambulance Charity, including: a ready crew room placed closer to the aircraft for faster dispatch; a space for crew to find respite, deliver peer-to-peer support and debrief critical missions – this would also be used for patient and family visits, as well as being a space for crew members to recuperate after being exposed to exceptional levels of trauma on a daily basis; education and training facilities; rest accommodation for frontline staff; and new storage space to accommodate additional medical and major incident response equipment.

“After visiting London’s Air Ambulance’s helipad base, it was clear that improvements were urgently needed to provide far better and more suitable facilities for the doctors, paramedics and pilots who are involved in highly stressful situations on a daily basis,” commented Robert Bertram, Chief Executive of the HELP Appeal. “We are proud that we are able to help them create a state-of-the-art facility that will also enable crews to reach critically ill patients even more quickly, helping to save more lives.”