Announcing the BN President’s NEW Charity of the Year…

The Association of Air Ambulances

The Association of Air Ambulances (AAA) is a new organisation representing the interests of air ambulance services throughout the UK and was launched in November, 2008. It will be jointly operated by air ambulance charities and the ambulance trusts that deploy the air ambulance helicopters.

The success of the air ambulance services in providing a rapid response to life-threatening situations has been clearly established. The importance of close collaboration between ambulance services and their local air ambulance operations is paramount in ensuring that patient well-being is the number one priority when responding to an incident. As BN President I have chosen this association because its service is well known and important not only to us but everyone, and has been used on our beaches and more remote clubs when individuals have been taken ill or had an accident. Users of Morfa Dyffryn beach will be aware of the air ambulance being called on a number of occasions in 2007 and 2008. Supporting a cause like this is another excellent way for us to show that naturists are normal people who care for the “outside world” and want to be part of the wider community.

The first air ambulance to commence operations within the UK was the helicopter serving Cornwall, established in 1987 and still known as the first air ambulance charity. Since then, the network of coverage by air ambulance helicopters has steadily grown so that by 2009 almost every county within the UK will be served. There are now around 30 air ambulance helicopters leased or owned and in service for the 18 established independent air ambulance charities, plus a further two operated by the Scottish ambulance service. Collectively, the air ambulance network is the busiest voluntary emergency service in the country.

It is estimated that on average a mission costs around £1,300, although this is obviously influenced by the length of flight and individual helicopter cost. The average expenditure on each helicopter across the whole air ambulance service is £843,000 a year. The air ambulance charities receive no direct government or National Lottery funding and are almost entirely supported by voluntary donations from the general public, organisations and local businesses.

Well-known actor Sir David Jason, a keen helicopter pilot himself, has accepted the role of patron of the Association of Air Ambulances.

If you would like to know more about the association, or the UK air ambulance network in general, please contact the association via e-mail at info@airambulanceassociation.co.uk or visit the website at www.airambulanceassociation.co.uk

If you have any ideas for making the very best of our new President’s Charity, or would like help or advice on running a fund-raising event, please let me know.

Angela Russell, BN President