Valuation Office Agency partnership raises nearly £10k for Air Ambulances UK
Our Charity of the Year partnership with the Government’s Valuation Office Agency has raised nearly £10k to help air ambulance charities make lifesaving missions
Over 3,000 Valuation Office Agency employees voted for Air Ambulances UK to be its Charity of the Year for 2018, following their colleague Adrian’s horrific motorbike accident in which he was left critically injured.
The accident left him at the roadside with life-threatening injuries including a severed spinal cord, broken pelvis, hip, neck, shoulder, wrist and ribs as well as a bleed on his brain.
The partnership, which concluded earlier this year, saw Valuation Office Agency employees raise the funds through a diverse range of office and social activities, as well as challenge events and payroll giving.
Thee vital funds will help the UK’s 21 air ambulance charities to continue making around 70 lifesaving missions a day across the UK, provide world-class training and have the most advanced medical equipment and drugs on-board.
When a life-threatening injury or medical emergency happens, there isn’t always time to get the patient to hospital. Getting the hospital to the patient is sometimes the only way to prevent the loss of a life.
That is when the speed and skills of one of the UK’s 21 local air ambulance charities are critical. The aviation excellence of the helicopter pilots and pre-hospital advanced medical capabilities of the critical care teams are global-leading.
On 11th March 2017 it was paramedics Lisa Dempster, Lee Greenwood and pilot Captain Chris Attril forming the Critical Care Team from Yorkshire Air Ambulance who flew to Adrian and performed the hospital-level treatment on him which saved his life. The team’s advanced life-saving treatment continued on-board the rapid helicopter transfer to hospital, effectively saving his life a second time.
Adrian’s story
Adrian recalls “If it wasn’t for the skill and dedication of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance team, I’m sure I wouldn’t be here today. They saved my life at the scene of my accident and then whisked me off to Leeds General Infirmary.
During the 10-minute flight I slipped into a coma as my lungs collapsed, and so every second saved by the speed of the helicopter transfer, the equipment on-board and the skills of the paramedics were all vital as my life hung in the balance.”
Nikki Wright, Air Ambulances UK Head of Fundraising and Communications, says: “Life-threatening injuries or a medical emergency can happen to anyone, anywhere at any time. We are incredibly grateful to everyone at the Valuation Office Agency for their fantastic fundraising efforts throughout their offices around the country, helping to ensure a world-class lifesaving service for our nation today and into the future.