It is just 7 days to go until Air Ambulance Week 2020 takes off across the UK celebrating the lifesaving work of the UK’s 21 air ambulance charities from 7th to 13th September.

The week will highlight how air ambulance charities save lives every day right across the UK by bringing the emergency department care directly to the side of patients who are critically ill and injured, because every second counts.

We’re calling on members of the public to do something amazing and donate to help us and the UK’s air ambulance charities continue to provide lifesaving care now and in the future.

The specialist critical care teams: paramedics, doctors, pilots, engineers and dispatchers provide vital lifesaving care, wherever it is needed.

Each year the UK’s 21 air ambulance charities are dispatched to over 25,000 missions, meaning that during Air Ambulance Week there will be nearly 500 patients who are in need of the rapid transportation of the skills and expertise of an air ambulance’s critical care team, because every second counts.

Air ambulance charities are an emergency service funded almost entirely by you. Your continued support saves the lives of individuals across the UK who are critically ill or injured when they are most in need. Each air missions mission costs around £2,500 and is almost entirely funded by donations, as there is no regular direct funding from the Government.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, air ambulance charities have faced many challenges including a significant drop in donations as the economic effects of the pandemic take hold.

Despite this, they have not only continued to provide lifesaving treatment, but have also played a vital role on the frontline response to COVD-19. Their committed teams remain dedicated and ready and able to save lives when someone is having the worst day of their life.

And so, now more than ever, we need support to enable us to keep saving lives like that of two year old Isaac who was on his way to a wedding rehearsal as a page boy when his parents car which was stationary at the time, was struck from behind leaving Isaac unconscious. Olivia Isaac’s Mum said

“I was in so much shock that I didn’t hear the aircraft land. Air Ambulance Kent, Surrey Sussex  (KSS)  intubated Isaac at the side of the road. It was awful seeing him lying there, I had to turn my face away.  Michael (my fiancee) and I went in the helicopter with Isaac. I felt so reassured by the crew. I couldn’t hear anything in the aircraft, but Ben Clarke, the Paramedic kept putting his thumb up to me. It was such a small thing but it meant so much. It made me feel as though Isaac was completely safe.”

Thankfully Isaac doesn’t remember the crash anymore but he knows how much KSS helped him and understands what the charity does for people. We always wave and say thank you when we see the helicopters flying past.

I still can’t believe that KSS is a charity, they really deserve support because you just never know when you might need them. “

We bring lifesaving care to patients like Isaac. Our missions are funded by your donations.

To find out more about Air Ambulance Week 2020 or to donate visit www.airambulancesuk.org or follow #AAW2020 #Becauseeverysecondcounts

To find out more about KSS: visit: https://www.aakss.org.uk