SPS had a special invitation earlier this month – to Henstridge Airfield, base of the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance to say thank you for our support following our £1300 donation earlier this year.
Sally-Anne Collins (Head of Customer Services), Ian Bateman (Allocator) and Jim Treadway (Driver) and his partner attended the celebratory event on 25th October.
The event started with an intro from the CEO about the importance of fundraising to support the air ambulance and a case study. Our team then had the pleasure of speaking to the family and liaison team, who are also fully funded by contributions, about the importance of their work and supporting the patient and family after a serious accident. The team also gave invaluable feedback to the crew about patient recovery.
Next up was a CPR/defib demonstration advising of their new campaign around raising awareness of basic CPR and where the nearest defib is – they showed how easy it is to use.
Our team had the opportunity to look at the support bike and ambulance cars that cover Somerset and Dorset and the the amount of equipment they can carry.
The highlight of the day was Peggy the helicopter! Just 15 minutes before the end of the day the Crew were called to a live shout, all visitors gathered at the side of the hanger to watch the team take off in just 4 minutes from the alarm…… it headed in the direction of Somerset.
The air ambulance needs to raise £5 million every year to continue its lifesaving service for the people of Dorset and Somerset. Donations, like ours, will help save more lives.
Dorset & Somerset Air provides relief from sickness and injury for the people of Dorset and Somerset, by the provision of an air ambulance, with an air and road-delivered critical care capability. They receive no direct funding from the Government or the National Lottery and rely on the generosity of the public for support. Their operational costs are over £5 million a year and the approximate cost per mission is £3,000.
For any enquiries about this article, please contact our Communications Team on 07793 753815 or email Emma Warr.