Cornwall Air Ambulance launch appeal to purchase a second state-of-the-art helicopter

nov 20 Steve Garvey - Air Operations Officer

Transcript

00:00 I'm Steve Garvey and I'm the Air Operations Officer at Commonwealth Ambulance.

00:03 We've had multiple helicopter platforms since the start of the service in 1987

00:10 and the 169 was the latest helicopter that was future-proofing our service for the next 10 to 15 years.

00:15 The clinical benefits it brings is a lot more space in the cabin,

00:19 so we've got 360 degree access around the patient.

00:22 We've got more payloads, so that's more weight,

00:26 which means we can put more fuel in and travel further and do back-to-back missions,

00:30 which is increasing our service to the people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

00:34 Owning two 169s is going to increase our resilience and capability all year round, 19 hours a day service.

00:44 When our helicopter goes for scheduled maintenance or even unplanned maintenance,

00:48 we're going to have the same spec aircraft to keep continuing our critical care service to people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

00:54 This will enable us to deliver more missions throughout the year

00:57 and attend more patients, helping us help you further.

01:00 Ultimately, it's the aircraft that we've chosen as the best platform

01:06 to deliver the critical care service to people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

01:09 So having two of them just means that we've got the same platform all year round.

01:14 This means that the crew don't have to be on multiple type ratings,

01:17 which involve more training and carries a risk to the crew as well.

01:22 So now the helicopters are going to be like for like.

01:25 So we're always going to know what we're doing, where everything is.

01:28 And they are the latest helicopters with all the latest equipment,

01:33 information systems, warning systems.

01:36 So this is going to enable us to deliver a fast, critical care service to people of Cornwall.

01:41 With the 169, we've now got a team looking at the layout of the clinical compartment,

01:50 so the actual clinicians are taking an active process in redesigning the layout of the aircraft.

01:54 We've made some new advancements recently with blood administration,

02:00 new ventilators and all the latest medical equipment.

02:03 So we're now designing how best to format that in the new aircraft

02:07 and we'll duplicate it within the other aircraft.

02:09 And this means we'll be delivering a high spec critical care service all year round.

02:17 The 169 is the most technically advanced aircraft with all the latest information systems,

02:22 advanced warning systems, and this means that we're able to deliver a high spec service now

02:28 and well into the future.

02:29 Being the first air ambulance service, the Cornish people are very proud of the service

02:38 that we've delivered over the 36 years that we've been in service.

02:45 By helping to fundraise for the second helicopter,

02:47 the people of Cornwall are ensuring that we can deliver our service into the future.

02:51 You never know when you may need us, but we need you always to deliver this service.

02:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]