Geoffrey makes an interesting observation in at the Cornwall helicopter was designed to allow the ambulance service to meet NHS targets by responding to calls within allocated times. It was merely another resource, in the same way as South Central Ambulance Service use midwives to answer calls.
This is an excellent and worthwhile aim. The problem is that other services have suggested that their helicopter saves lives by doing things that ground resources cannot. With the exception of the London HEMS there is no peer reviewed research that this is the case.
The differing claims and aims makes any national service difficult to establish and so the true integration into the NHS that the medical profession would like to see is not going to happen.
I do have concerns over ever more expensive airframes for Geoffrey's aims. It is difficult to see how the increased cost provides a payback. This not only gives ammunition to opponents but reduces the money available to other healthcare charities as it has been demonstrated that there is a finite sum the public will contribute. Overall therefore this decision may reduce the standard of healthcare in Cornwall.