Amanda Milling, Member of Parliament for Cannock Chase, has thrown her backing behind a quest to secure proceeds from banking fines for air ambulance coverage in Cannock Chase.
The Cannock Chase MP is getting behind a bid by the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, to access banking fine funding to purchase outright a new helicopter for the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.
The Midland Air Ambulance Charity currently leases the helicopter that covers Cannock Chase, which is normally based at Tatenhill. It wants to purchase a new helicopter and reduce its need to lease aircraft. This will mean lower operating costs and a better, more stable future for this vital service.
The Midlands Air Ambulance is the charity responsible for funding and operating three air ambulances serving the communities of six Midlands counties: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. This constitutes the largest air ambulance operating region in the UK.
Since 1991, the charity has responded to more than 43,000 emergencies averaging 2,000 missions per year, making it one of the longest established and busiest air ambulance organisations in the UK. The charity’s three aircraft each carry a crew comprising pilot, two paramedics or flight doctors plus full life-support medical equipment. 90 per cent of the region is within reach inside eight minutes by the three helicopters in service.
The charity is presenting a bid to the Treasury as part of a project to secure a fund of £1 million to purchase a new helicopter.
Amanda Milling said, “We have all seen what a brilliant service the air ambulance is and it’s so easy to recognise the bright red helicopter when it is responding to an emergency. The medical team and flight crew have saved countless lives over the years and we all know how important they are. Getting injured on Cannock Chase could be life-threatening because of the remote locations, and a Helicopter could be the vital lifeline needed in a crisis. I think using the proceeds from banking fines for charities like the Air Ambulance is widely supported and I am happy to back their bid.”
The Cannock Chase MP has supplied a letter that will go to HM Treasury with the charities bid and in it she says that she believes that the work and dedication of the emergency services is a vital part of day to day life and she feels that every effort should be made to ensure that the emergency services can continue to respond to life threatening situations effectively and in as short a time as possible. The MP also believes that it is essential to ensure the safety of those who are there to perform emergency treatment and that sending the air ambulance helicopter to remote and difficult to access areas will significantly reduce the potential for injury to the ambulance crew, rather than trying to access the location by land and foot.
The MP added that on an average day the charity will carry out five missions which clearly demonstrates the need for the service in the area. Amanda Milling is certain that the addition of a further air ambulance helicopter will be beneficial to the public. She is very happy to give her full support to the bid to use proceeds from banking fines to secure the future of this vital service.