By Bev Haigh-jones
I have had a very recent birthday. Not a notable one as far as the number is concerned (in fact, I would probably rather forget it!), but it certainly produced a very notable experience.
As a surprise gift, my lovely husband decided to donate to the wonderful Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust in my name. Not content with a small donation, he opted for their HELi2 Heroes fund raiser. This initiative is in the process of trying to raise the remaining £2.85m needed for a second helicopter, in order that they can operate an even more effective service. They are doing quite well, having already raised over £1m, but there is still a long way to go in order to fund this vital expansion.
So, having decided on the gift, hubby was aided all along the way by the marvellous staff at the CAA, and unbeknown to me, a visit to the headquarters was arranged for me to receive my HELi2 Heroes certificate and badge. It didn’t stop there, though. The donation given on my behalf means that when that new helicopter comes into service, my name will be on it! It won’t be just mine, of course, mine will be amongst the names of all the others who have given funds to help it happen –what an honour and a thrill!
It was also a thrill to meet so many of the CAA team during our visit, including one of the pilots and three of the paramedics, as well as a number of other personnel, and I have to say what a wonderful, friendly bunch of people they are! Interesting too! We had some great conversations about the difficulties they face, the types of incidents that they respond to, and even the story of the very first patient who was airlifted to hospital forty years ago, on the first day of operation, and when Cornwall had the first air ambulance in the country.
This is a brief overview from the CAA regarding the HELi2 appeal:
“Cornwall Air Ambulance provides pre-hospital emergency care to those who are critically ill or injured across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
“The #HELi2 appeal is aiming to raise £2.85m to help them secure a second AW169 helicopter. The charity says owning an additional high-specification aircraft will boost their resilience and capability, meaning that when online they can always respond on the best-suited helicopter for the service they provide.
“Owning two AW169s will help them to achieve 19-hour-a-day availability by air all year round, where weather allows, and ultimately, it will help Cornwall Air Ambulance to attend more missions by air and to save even more lives.”
I’m sure that all of you who live in Cornwall, like me, are already well aware of the CAA – some of you may even have had personal experience of it – and most people will realise just how vital a service it is for the region. Just look at the June statistics on the header photograph and think how the outcome for those people might have been very different if there was no CAA! Imagine a casualty in the far west, perhaps near Land’s End, who needs to be transported urgently to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, and think how long that would take in the height of summer, if it had to be carried out by road. Who of us knows when we might need to call on the services of the air ambulance? But what if it wasn’t there because of a lack of funding? The job they do is truly amazing, and is crucial for Cornwall, but they operate completely on charitable funding, so if you can help to keep this vital service in operation, please do!
