Saving lives for 10 years
Here he talks to the fundraisers that keep the helicopter flying 365 days a year and hears survivors’ stories of how the air ambulance helped saved their lives.
FOR Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance there are no holidays; lives need saving 365 days of the year.
From Hospital transfers to life threatening road traffic collisions the iconic yellow helicopter and its crew are just 19 minutes away from any incident, anywhere in the two counties.
However, this month sees the charity organisation taking a rare moment to relax as they celebrate 10 years of saving lives. In the past decade the service has responded to over 7,000 incidents, last year alone saw the crew attend 982 incidents, whether it’s a Sunday morning or a Wednesday afternoon the two pilots and four paramedics are on call.
Having recently moved to a new, purpose built airbase headquarters on the Henstridge Airfield the charity is now a fully integrated member of the rescue service family. Teaming up with hospitals and land based ambulances to provide vital help to Dorset and Somerset’s residents.
Dorchester County Hospital is the main emergency provider the helicopter flies to because it takes all emergency cases, and with its helipad right outside A and E, it is the perfect place when seconds, never mind minutes, can make all the difference.
The helicopter flies to specialist hospitals such as Exeter and Bournemouth only when the patient can be stabilised enough to make the extra flight time.
Very often it’s the patients whose lives have been saved that regularly get together to hold coffee mornings, bring-and-buy sales and various ingenious fundraising events to generate some of the £1.4 million a year needed to keep the service running.
With the cost of fuel going sky-high the daily expense of running the service has risen by £300 to £3,800 a day. That’s without the paramedic’s salary, which is the only part of the set up that is paid for by the National Health Service. Even the paramedic’s up-to-date and extensive training is paid for by the charity.
DSAA’s marketing and communications officer Tracy Bartram said: “We basically rely on volunteers to help. 100 per cent of the costs have to be found by the public.
“I think of initiatives that will raise funds for us without the public having to give us money. We have a textiles recycling scheme where people can throw away old clothes or another one where we collect old bras. At the same time we are always trying to raise awareness of the charity.
“Our volunteers give so much time and effort for the charity. They are asked to form groups and societies and we rely on volunteers to do that for us because the paid people cannot be in 10 places at once. We want to support people who are supporting us and show support to people donating money to us.
“One thing we do really, really well is support people who support us. I can hold my head up and say that with the small amount of staff we have.
“A lot of people love working for such a good cause. In my job you come across so many different people and every single one of those is special in a way.
“It’s an emotional job but so rewarding. You speak to the guys and they’re telling you stories every day about their call outs. I think people feel proud and privileged to look up and see the helicopter and say that’s ours. I think they feel proud to be helping something that’s running so well.”
The helicopter is leased from Bond Services, who provide most of the ambulances throughout the country. By renting the helicopters they are up-dated every few years and repairs are fixed within a day or a replacement helicopter is brought in.
The current airbase, which visitors say is one of the best in the country, is run on a peppercorn lease from the airfield’s owner, who charges a minimal rent to the organisation which gives them tenants rights.
With its head office in Wellington, there are nine permanent staff with two dedicated fundraisers co-ordinating the organisations bank of about 80 volunteers of which around half tend to be active and do activities for the charity. However, recruiting is vital for the charity to carry on moving forward.
For the charity’s 10th birthday they have put together a DVD featuring 10 accident patients whose lives have been saved by the organisation.
One of those featuring on the DVD is 15-year-old Sophie Pope, who was airlifted to hospital when her horse kicked out, fracturing her vertebrae and knocking her unconscious.
Because of the location of the accident a land ambulance would have taken an hour and half to ferry her to hospital. The then 11-year-old was taken to Southampton hospital in less than eight and a half minutes by helicopter where she spent 10 days in intensive care.
Sophie is one of those who felt inspired to raise money for the charity after her convalescence, despite admitting to not knowing about the service before her accident.
Sophie said her family were now great supporters of the air ambulance and were so grateful they were thinking of becoming volunteers.
“We didn’t know the air ambulance existed before the accident because I don’t think it’s as well promoted as the police or land ambulance. Most people don’t know it exists until they need it,” she said.
“I don’t know what would have happened if I would’ve had to go the hour and a half by land ambulance. I would say this service helped save my life. I don’t know what you can say to someone who saves your life, just thank you.”
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Great! It really helps people in times of emergency.
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