Appeal launched to fund personal protective equipment for East Anglian Air Ambulance

An emergency appeal to raise funds for personal protective equipment (PPE) has been launched by the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA).

The air ambulance is still flying and saving lives during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the cost of acquiring the additional PPE is significant.

Over a six-month period it is estimated to cost the charity more than £100,000 to keep its two critical care teams safe.

Due to the nature of the procedures the medical teams are often required to perform, such as CPR or intubating a patient to take over their breathing, without the right PPE they are at a very high risk of great exposure to the virus.

More than £25,000 of unbudgeted funds has already been spent on items such as respirators, high-protection masks, visors, suits, gowns and goggles to protect the doctors and critical care paramedics who are working in the pre-hospital environment.

The charity has also had to source different filters for its equipment to prevent contamination, and large amounts of medical cleaning wipes, so that they can deep-clean equipment between missions.

Richard Hindson, Head of Operations at EAAA, said: “At a time like this we can’t take any chances with the safety of our crews, but we also need to be able to provide the same level of care for our patients. The equipment we now need to operate safely is a huge unforeseen cost that simply hasn’t been budgeted for, but we can’t send our crews out without it.

“We understand people are struggling at home too and may not feel as secure about their income, but we need support now more than ever, from those who feel able to give it, to protect our crews and keep our service operating safely. Please donate what you can to help.”

The charity has had to draw on its reserves to adapt to the pandemic and make sure its crews are able to keep flying.

In March 2020, the EAAA life-saving teams attended 178 missions and treated 111 patients. 98 of these missions were attended by helicopter and 80 by rapid response vehicle.

Mr Hindson continued: “The way in which we operate has had to change so much, incredibly quickly, but our crews have been amazing and are still out there every day, not knowing what they might come into contact with once they get to scene.

“We’ve had to adapt all of our procedures to protect against this virus, right down to introducing new criteria for which patients we can transfer by air to hospital, but we’re proud to still be able to be there for the patients who need us and to support the other emergency services. With community support now, we can make sure we’re still there for our patients next month and next year, too.”

Support the EAAA PPE appeal by:

Phone: 03450 669 999 today and donate by debit or credit card (08.30am-5.00pm)

Text: PPE 5 to 70085 to donate £5, text PPE 10 to give £10, or PPE 20 to give £20*

Visit: eaaa.org.uk/PPE and donate online.