LAY-Z-BOY SOFA DONATIONS KEEP CREWS COMFY BETWEEN LIFESAVING MISSIONS

Air ambulance charity crews will now have somewhere even more comfortable to relax during a busy shift, thanks to a series of sofa donations by La-Z-Boy UK.

Across the UK air ambulances charities collectively carry out around 80 lifesaving missions every day, funded almost entirely by charity donations, to people in desperate need of their advanced pre-hospital care.

La-Z-Boy UK donated sofas and chairs to five different air ambulance charities across the country in a bid to give something back to the community and provide much-needed support to their hard-working staff and volunteers.

Adam Morley, head of marketing at La-Z-Boy UK, said:

“The whole team at La-Z-Boy UK are delighted that we have had the opportunity to help out air ambulance charities and be able to provide a number of crew rooms with our sofas and chairs. In such a high pressure and demanding environment, what better way can there be to sit back and relax than in a La-Z-Boy recliner in between call outs.”

One of the recipients was Scotland’s Air Ambulance Charity, which is able to reach 90 per cent of the Scottish population within just 25 minutes of being called out.

Nick Harvey, deputy CEO at SCAA, said:

“The donation from La-Z-Boy of their super comfortable leather chairs for our air ambulance crews at our Perth Base has been a very welcome addition, providing a great space for our crews to recharge between flying lifesaving missions across Scotland.”

Another donation was made to Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust, which is currently building a new facility at North Weald and refitting and extending the Earls Colne airbase. And Great North Air Ambulance Service, which responded to 1,262 call-outs in the north east, Cumbria and North Yorkshire in 2020, also received two recliner sofas.

Tim West, a paramedic at Great North Air Ambulance Service, said:

“It’s vital that our team can relax between call-outs so they are a welcome addition to our crew room.”

Natalie Church, director of operations at Magpas Air Ambulance, which serves the East of England, said:

“We’re very grateful that La-Z-Boy have so kindly donated two recliner sofas to the Magpas Air Ambulance team, replacing our (now quite old) settees. The Magpas doctors, critical care paramedics and flight crew often experience extremely demanding and challenging shifts, so it’s really important for them to have a space where they can relax between missions.

“These sofas will also be particularly appreciated on night shifts (7pm – 7am), providing a great spot for the medical team to get some sleep if possible too.”

The fifth set of furniture was given to Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, which now has two La-Z-Boy reclining sofas in its crew rest room.

The charity’s CEO Bill Sivewright said:

“The on-duty crew must be fully ready to deploy at a moment’s notice and this means that even when back at base, down time is at a premium; completing records of missions, checking and restocking equipment, updating themselves on possible changes to weather and even the status of regional hospitals.

“To be able to relax in such style, as offered by the La-Z-Boy sofas, is a fantastic boost to spirits.”