The Great North Air Ambulance has been given £195,990 to help fund the next 30 advanced critical care missions across West Cumbria.
The cash, from Sellafield Ltd’s Social Impact Multiplied programme, will allow the charity’s critical care team to continue to provide life-saving advanced treatment to seriously ill and injured patients across the region and fly them quickly to major trauma centres.
Over a 12-month period, the charity has responded to 129 incidents in West Cumbria, accounting for 21 per cent of all incidents attended across Cumbria.
Of those incidents, 32 patients required advanced critical care interventions that can only be delivered by a consultant-level doctor and paramedic team.
These interventions included pre-hospital blood transfusions, pre-hospital anaesthesia, advanced medication and surgical procedures carried out at the scene of an incident.
The proportion of patients requiring these advanced interventions in West Cumbria was found to be significantly higher than in other parts of the county, with over 60 per cent of all incidents attended in the North West needing the patient to be airlifted to the most appropriate hospital for their needs.
Based on average mission costs when responding by helicopter, the £195,990 investment from Sellafield Ltd will help fund 30 missions in West Cumbria, which includes the specialist medical equipment, the clinical team on board, medications and fuel and operational running costs.
Euan Hutton, chief executive officer at Sellafield Ltd said: “We are proud to support the Great North Air Ambulance Service through our Social Impact Multiplied programme, helping to deliver vital, life-saving care to rural communities across West Cumbria, an area without a major trauma centre.
“As a charity that relies entirely on donations, this funding is crucial in enabling their teams to continue providing rapid, advanced critical care when it is needed most, making a real difference in emergency situations.
“I would encourage any organisation to support their corporate fundraising mission, we all hope we will never need the service, but take comfort it is there if we do.”
Natasha Banks, senior corporate relationship manager at GNAAS, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Sellafield Ltd for their generous donation of £195,990, which will help fund the delivery of our next 30 life-saving missions across West Cumbria.
“We are proud to work alongside an organisation that recognises the importance of supporting our local communities and protecting future generations.
“This funding will have a direct and meaningful impact, helping ensure patients receive the critical care they need when every second counts.”
The charity is 100 per cent reliant on donations to deliver helicopter emergency medical services in the region and need to raise a minimum of £9.6m a year to remain operational across the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man.
To help secure the charity’s long-term sustainability, it has revealed plans to invest in a replacement fleet of three state-of-the-art helicopters.
This ensures that when one aircraft is unavailable due to maintenance or training requirements, another with the same advanced capabilities can be deployed, guaranteeing uninterrupted service for patients across the region.
Joseph Garcia MBE, chief executive officer, said: “This donation by Sellafield Ltd is a significant investment in the safety, wellbeing and resilience of communities across West Cumbria and beyond.
“Their support enables us to continue delivering world-class pre-hospital emergency care while helping secure the long-term sustainability of our service.
“As we progress with our plans to replace our helicopter fleet with three state-of-the-art aircraft, partnerships like this give us the confidence to invest in the future.
“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone at Sellafield Ltd for having the vision and commitment to support their communities in such a direct, meaningful and tangible way. Their funding will make a genuine difference to patients and families across our region.”
