I have been told that the Air Ambulance operations in certain areas are a full time operation run by a company that charges the charity for its services.
The way it works is as follows;
The aircraft and it's crew are full time professionals who attend accidents and carry out the required medical/ paramedicals as per all medevac aircraft............nothing wrong with that. I salute and have enormous respect for all SAR and medical emergency crews.
What makes me wonder is....a company operating a helicopter..usually an Augusta or of that ilk, which is not cheap to fly and crew with a doctor and paramedics, would they attend only major accidents or would they radio watch and go for the least that they could get airborne with!!!.
Remember that it is a commercial operation charging a charity!!
It leaves me with all sort's of questions.
I sincerely hope that my information is wrong, because having seen charity helo's fall short of funding it would seem to be that the authorities should come up with the said funding.
Aircrews do a superb job in this situation, the funding to save a life should not come into question.
It becomes questionable when a charity, is not really a charity, but a front for a commercial operation.
Once again, I hope what I have been told is incorrect.
With the highest regards for all SAR and medic crews,
Micky.