The North West Air Ambulance Charity (NWAA) has received funding for a new critical care car to add to its fleet, thanks to a donation of £55,500 from the HELP Appeal.
The HELP Appeal is the only charity in the country providing funding for new and upgraded helipads at NHS hospitals, such as Salford Royal Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary.
Its recent support of NWAA has meant an update to the existing fleet, which comprises of three helicopters and four critical care cars, enabling its lifesaving crew to attend emergencies across the North West via air and road.
The critical care cars carry the same pre-hospital equipment as the helicopters, allowing the critical care paramedics and doctors to deliver blood and drugs as well as surgical procedures at the scene of an accident or injury.
Robert Bertram, Chief Executive of the HELP Appeal Charity, said: “It’s thanks to the brilliant support of the general public that we’ve made a significant donation to the North West Air Ambulance Charity. We recognise the essential service NWAA provides, via their helicopters and critical care cars in lifesaving situations. By funding one of its critical care cars, we’re helping the charity in its mission to deliver urgent medical care to critically ill and injured patients across the North West.”
In 2024, the North West Air Ambulance Charity had one of its busiest years on record, with its crews being called to 3,170 missions. Over 1,000 of those incidents were attended to via the critical care cars.
The new critical care car will enable NWAA to continue attending incidents when there are poor weather conditions, if the helicopters are undergoing maintenance, or to support the charity’s recently expanded night car service.
David Briggs, operations director at the North West Air Ambulance Charity added: “We’re hugely grateful to Robert and the team at the HELP Appeal Charity for the significant donation of our new critical care car.
“Their support will enable our crews to bring the hospital to the patient as they are kitted with vital equipment to treat those critically ill and injured patients across the region. We receive no government funding and are not part of the NHS, so without this kind of support, we simply would not be able to continue the lifesaving work we do.”
