If it’s government funded it will be shut down totally to save money.
We are talking about health care, not the police / NAS. I dont see the NHS being shut down to save money
I was thinking more of the thousands of individuals who give up their time, run shops (and marathons), rattle collecting tins, do mud runs and generally put themselves out to raise the massive amount of funds required to run THEIR Air Ambulance
Rather like health care was provided in the 1930s....
If we suggested replacing the NHS with a series of charities there would be an outcry, yet perhaps one of the most critical medial areas is run by charities. Just as the NHS does not build cars, it should not build or perhaps even operate helicopters. However, the miss mash or medical personnel, equipment and protocols, the lack of seemless medical care from aircraft to operating theatre, the shortcomings of some taskings and the opportunity to standardise and improve medical care on scene and use an expensive resource efficiently is begging for the medical aspects of HEMS to come under proper medical supervision and direction.
Of course, just as most of the population believe the NHS is unique and almost a religion, so many see their air ambulance as untouchable. As often happens, politics and public perception triumphs over science and professional advice