Air Ambulance Week is taking off across the UK from Monday 6th September to raise awareness of the lifesaving work of air ambulance charities across the UK.

During the national awareness week, organised by Air Ambulances UK, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity will be joining other air ambulance charities around the country in a campaign called Every Second Counts and Every Penny Matters.

The campaign highlights how air ambulance charities rapidly deliver advanced, lifesaving pre-hospital emergency care directly to some of the most seriously ill and injured patients across the UK. Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is one of 21 air ambulance operators that brings the hospital to the patient when every second counts towards survival.

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity attends an average of 13 lifesaving missions a day across the Midlands, forming an important part of the emergency service and healthcare provision across the West Midlands, and supporting the NHS.

Each air ambulance mission costs, on average, around £2,500 and each of Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s critical care car missions costs an average of £224. All of the charity’s daily lifesaving missions are funded by public donations, meaning every penny matters.

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is calling on people all over the West Midlands to support the charity during Air Ambulance Week to ensure it can continue to save the lives of people like John Walton, from Dudley. John was playing a game of squash with a friend at his local leisure centre, when after 35 minutes, he became unwell rather quickly, his breathing became laboured and his heart went into cardiac arrest. John then collapsed as he went to hit the squash ball and fell, bruising his face.

Two ambulances and a paramedic officer from West Midlands Ambulance Service arrived on scene and continued CPR which had already been started by the sports centre. In addition, a critical care paramedic for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity was deployed to the scene on the organisation’s critical care car. John explains:

“I just don’t want to think what could have happened had it not been for Clive, the team at the leisure centre, and Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s enhanced care.” 

To celebrate Air Ambulance Week, Air Ambulances UK, Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland and Raffolux, the online raffle company, have partnered to launch the 'Every Second Counts’ prize draw, where people can enter to win an Audi Q3 and support their local air ambulance charity. For more details, and to play you can visit everysecondcountsraffle.co.uk.

Emma Gray, chief operating officer for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity added:

“Air Ambulance Week is always something that we are keen to get involved with and support. Following the success of our Air30 Rapid Response Raffle, earlier this year, which funded 120 lifesaving missions, we are pleased to be supporting Air Ambulances UK’s Every Second Counts prize draw, which will see our service and the wider air ambulance community supported for future lifesaving missions.”

To find out more about Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, visit midlandsairambulance.com.