Flying start

For within minutes of hearing about the launch of a £2.5 million effort, to ensure the county's airborne rescuers are equipped with the latest technology, an 82-year-old Yorkshire woman donated £1,000.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) is four years old and has undertaken 4,000 missions, making it one of the busiest air ambulance services in England and Wales. Within its league, it is the only service that only operates one aircraft.

YAA currently leases a Bolkow 105 helicopter which carries a pilot, two paramedics and the same equipment as a land ambulance. It is now 15 years old, and there are more cost-effective machines available with higher medical specifications. A new aircraft, such as a McDonnell Douglas MD902 Explorer, costs about £2.5milliom.

YAA chief executive Martin Eede said the air ambulance played a vital part in pre-hospital care.

"In North Yorkshire it can take a long time for a land ambulance to reach a patient and then take that person to hospital," he said.

The air ambulance can reach any destination in Yorkshire within 25 minutes, with a further ten minutes maximum transfer time to an A&E unit.

"A 17-year-old rider near Malton was thrown by her horse," recalled Mr Eede.

"The horse landed on her and fractured her pelvis and ruptured her spleen. It was on a field. The land ambulance couldn't get to her and the crew realised that if they carried her across the field it could kill her. We landed beside her, got her in the air ambulance, stabilised her and got her to York hospital.

"The surgeon said if it had been five minutes later she wouldn't have survived. We offer speed and stability."

But he stressed the need for support.

"We're funded predominantly by the generosity of Yorkshire people, Yorkshire companies and friends of Yorkshire."

Bradford-based Sovereign Health Care pledged £100,000 at the launch at RAF Linton-on-Ouse yesterday.

Marketing manager Paul Kitching said: "We hope our significant contribution will set a sponsorship benchmark for other companies to follow."

Also urging people to dig deep was Shaun Mudge, from near Goole, whose two-year-old son, Isaac Plum, is the youngest patient to be rescued by the helicopter following a home birth.

"When Isaac was born, he had to be resuscitated for 20 to 30 minutes. The air ambulance was in the area and picked him up. He was in hospital within five minutes."

To make a donation, phone 0845 120 6060 or send a cheque to The Golden Wings Appeal, Office D255, Dean Clough, Halifax, HX3 5AX.

Updated: 10:15 Thursday, February 17, 2005