London’s Air Ambulance Charity launches major appeal to replace helicopters

Up against time is the name of the new campaign by London’s Air Ambulance Charity to raise £15 million by 2024. The money will pay to replace two helicopters and maintain them for five years The role of the helicopters is to take our medics to the patient quickly – providing the complex care patients would get in A&E at the scene – for those that don’t have the time to make it back to hospital.  

The number of MD902s (the Charity’s current type of helicopter) is in decline in the UK. As a result, over the next 2-5 years, the Charity’s existing helicopters will become increasingly difficult to maintain and find spares support for. Following an extensive selection and contract negotiation process, the Charity has selected two Airbus H135 T3H helicopters to replace its fleet.     

Backed by experience and a long heritage, the H135 is in service in more than 60 countries. It is known for its endurance, compact build, low noise levels, fuel efficiency, reliability, and cost-competitiveness. It is a market leader in emergency medical services worldwide and can be fitted with bespoke configuration to suit our operational requirements.

London’s Air Ambulance was founded in 1989 and to date has treated over 44,500 critically injured people and attended most major incidents in London including 7/7, the Grenfell Tower fire and London Bridge terror incident . On average 5 seriously injured patients are treated every day . Helicopter Emergency Medical (HEMs) medics can carry out open chest surgery, give blood transfusions and put patients into an induced coma at the scene.

As part of the new fundraising campaign, the Charity revealed the results of polling that showed that one in four Londoners have been affected been affected, or have a friend or family member who has been affected by traumatic injury. Just over a third of those polled knew that the Charity is funded by public donations. Up against time aims to increase public awareness and increase donations to help hit their £15 million target.

https://www.londonsairambulance.org.uk/up-against-time-appeal