LNAA Corporate Event

At the invitation of the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance service, Andrew Morley (COTY Committee Member) and Liam Chantry (Lincoln office) recently attended at the new LNAA HQ in Waddington as part of a “thank you” for fundraisers such as Chattertons, a chance to meet fellow business supporters and to hear from pilots and medics about how our support has been making a difference.

LNAA is funded entirely from donations and it was clear from the moment Andrew and Liam arrived and were greeted by our contact there, Tanya Taylor, that they are truly grateful for what we have done for them. By the end of the afternoon there could be no doubt that we should be the one’s thanking them for all they do.

After an introduction by CEO Karen Jobling guests met the days’ crew of pilot, co-pilot, doctor and paramedic who talked passionately about their work.

The afternoon was one of superlatives and statistics such as:-

• Time taken from call-out to being in the sky – 4 minutes
• Time to reach the most distant part of the 3,500 square miles covered – 20 minutes
• Average number of call-outs per day – 3

As an emergency vehicle the Ambucopter can land anywhere without needing permission. Its call-sign is “Helimed29” and the pilot explained that in the case of a major incident this becomes “Helimed29alpha” with the suffix “alpha” giving them priority airspace over all other craft including jets that could have to be diverted to allow the Ambucopter the quickest route to its destination.

Many of those attending believed that the main strength of the service is its ability to get quickly to the patient and then to transport the patient quickly to hospital. That is so true in situations where seconds can be the difference between life and death. What also became clear was the high level of clinical care the team offers. When not working for LNAA the doctor on duty on this particular day is a hospital consultant in trauma and he told us about incidents of major surgery being performed at the scene of an incident. He has on board everything that he would have at his day job in a hospital operating theatre.

Luckily there was no call-out that day and Liam even got to sit inside the Ambucopter!

Andrew said afterwards “It was a privilege to spend time with these wonderful people and I for one will now look up to the sky with renewed respect when the Ambucopter flies over.”

Tanya Taylor at the LNAA said: "We were delighted to welcome business supporters from across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire to visit our new HQ and to hear from our Doctors, Paramedics and Pilots. On behalf of all the team thankyou to all our business partners. See you again very soon!"