Yorkshire Air Ambulance 'to lose £400,000 in donations' as coronavirus pandemic continues

Yorkshire Air Ambulance will operate only one helicopter for the foreseeable future, as they redeploy medical personnel to help with the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) and Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) have confirmed plans to redeploy staff to hospitals.

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But they have also issued a plea for donations, estimating that the new coronavirus will cost them more than £400,000 in donations over the course of the year.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance will operate only one helicopter for the forseeable future, as they redeploy medical personnel to help with the coronavirus pandemic.Yorkshire Air Ambulance will operate only one helicopter for the forseeable future, as they redeploy medical personnel to help with the coronavirus pandemic.
Yorkshire Air Ambulance will operate only one helicopter for the forseeable future, as they redeploy medical personnel to help with the coronavirus pandemic.

All YAA doctors will now concentrate on their frontline roles as Consultants in emergency medicine, anaesthesia and critical care, while a small number of critical care paramedics will also be redeployed to the ambulance service frontline.

Peter Sunderland, YAA Chairman, said: “In the midst of this unprecedented crisis, the YAA wants to do everything it can to support the NHS and YAS in their fight against COVID-19. It is important that everyone does their part, including us.

“As the cases of COVID-19 rise, it also increases the pressure on the NHS. We know that YAS anticipates a significant increase in 999 calls across the region and by redeploying our Doctors and a small number of our Critical Care Paramedics back to their respective hospitals or ambulance operations, we can do our bit to support the frontline effort.”

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“This means, for a temporary period, we will be operating only one of our two helicopters from our Nostell airbase, with a crew of two Critical Care Paramedics and a Pilot.

!We would also strongly reinforce the government’s message to stay at home during this crisis, and stay local to your home for your daily exercise period. Travelling further afield in cars to places like forests or moorlands can increase the risk of possible unnecessary accidents such as RTC’s or falls where our services might be required.

"With a reduced service currently available from the YAA, it’s vitally important we are available for the most urgent cases.”

While the pandemic continues, the YAA will operate only one of their helicopters, from their airbase at Nostell, with a daily shift from 7am to 7pm.

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Mr Sunderland said: “It is no secret that we have seen a huge downturn in fundraising incomes and activities in the last couple of weeks. A calendar packed full of summer events and activities has virtually been wiped out, with an estimated loss of income for this period alone being in the region of £400,000 plus.

"We have now closed our Head Office in Elland, and the rest of the team are working at home for their own safety. They are working extremely hard behind the scenes to ensure we are ready to get straight back to our fundraising activities once things start to get back to some normality, and we’re also taking the opportunity to explore and plan some new projects for the future.

“We understand that this is an extremely difficult time for everyone, but if anyone wishes to make a small donation to support us at this time, it would be very gratefully received and can be done safely and securely via our website: www.yaa.org.uk/donate."

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