EMS
NEW AIR AMBULANCES
The Basingstoke based Automobile Association [AA]
are firmly interested in supporting a national string
of air ambulances, perhaps not unlike the German ADAC,
Austrian OAMTC, Spanish RACC and other groups. The
project will be in co-operation with a City of London
based charity group calling themselves NAAAS [National
Association of Air Ambulance Services].
The sponsor is rumoured to be considering putting up
as much as £25 million [i.e. 80%] of the cost, a figure
that might be discounted were it not known that they have
a very long history of involvement in emergency services
aviation.
After operating aircraft in a small way before the war,
from 1954 to 1990 the AA flew a variety of fixed wing
aircraft, which incidentally greatly assisted in the
development of police aviation in the UK, and included
ambulance repatriation among their duties. They walked
away from aircraft use and on July 20, 1990 handed the
task over to commerce. Perhaps, after a few years
reflection, they have decided that this was an error.
PAN first exclusively announced the identity of the
sponsor in the January issue but has since acceded to
a request from NAAAS to keep further comment to a low
profile until the April 15 launch date in East London.
In late March Flight International published details
and negated this restraint. The Press Briefing, hosted
by the AA at London City Airport, is to be held on
the morning of the launch.
An Agusta A109E Power, wearing a yellow and green
colour scheme and the sponsor's markings was involved
in filming of a television advertisement in February.
In an effort to keep the filming secret the A109E
operated within the confines of the high security
Vauxhall Car [GM] test track, Millbrook, Bedfordshire,
on February 10/11 with an AS355 camera ship. It can
be assumed that the content of this commercial break
will further enhance the existing "Fourth Emergency
Service" theme.
Industry sources suggest that the final make up of this
Thames Valley based HEMS scheme will centre on
Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and will include
additional helicopters supplied by Bond. An operating
base at White Waltham has been suggested. [IPAR]
Last month it was learned that ambulance chiefs in
Lancashire are planning to set up an air ambulance
operation in the near future. If their aspirations
are realised this would be the North West's first
air ambulance service. Currently the Lancashire Police
ASU undertakes limited air ambulance sorties.
If the scheme goes ahead, the source states that
the helicopter would become part of a national network
of around nine located around the country. The
Lancashire Ambulance Service have stated that the
plan is still in its very early stages and they were
currently asking staff for feedback on whether they
would wish to become air paramedics.
The helicopter would be funded separately from the
National Health Service, possibly funded locally by
a North West charitable trust, but it increasingly
looks like this scheme may be included in the AA/NAAAS
scheme and based at Blackpool Airport. There are
currently about eight EMS operations in the country.
In addition to this information the proposed Lancashire
air ambulance has been linked with a number of other
newly proposed HEMS operations, including an additional
one in the Midlands. One source has suggested that
one of the Bo105 helicopters mentioned previously
in this column has had the marks G-NAAB reserved or
allocated and will be an airframe sited with an EMS
operation in Lancashire near to the M6 motorway. If
this is confirmed it firmly links up with the Thames
Valley operation which includes NAAAS. The suspicion
must be raised that NAAAS and its sponsor are effectively
taking over at least part of the existing Bond HEMS
network. The seemingly aimless movements of a number
of Bo105 airframes recorded in recent issues of PAN
were part of a pattern.
This is taken from the PAN page