Going door-to-door to keep our lifesaving helicopters in skies

Help is needed to keep the NWAA in the skies

Volunteers spend months knocking on doors across Lancashire to sell memberships to a weekly lottery after admitting leafleting and emails didn’t generate enough money.

The need is even greater in the last year with the life-saving service adding a third helicopter to its fleet, meaning it must find £6m a year to keep them in the air.

The charity is completely reliant on public donations to keep its helicopters and selling lottery memberships door-to-door raises over £2m every year.

And although 83,000  people are signed up to the North West lottery and hundreds of supporters hold fundraising events and thousands donate to the charity each year, the service admits it can only continue going while it has the support of the public.

Jenny Haskey, head of fundraising, said: “Anyone, of any age, anywhere, may one day need our care and in the last year alone we flew 2,000 rescue missions throughout the region.

“We are so grateful for the support of our community of fundraisers; without them, our charity would not be able to continue providing its urgent, life saving service to the 8 million people of the North West and its visitors each year.”

The canvassers go door-to-door to every town and city in Lancashire throughout the year.

Since its launch in 1999, the North West Air Ambulance has flown more than 18,000 missions across the region.

Two years ago it moved its aircraft – some of which were housed at Blackpool Airport – to bases at the Royal Preston Hospital and the University Hospital of South Manchester.

This has allowed qualified doctors to travel onboard to incidents which require specialist clinical care on scene.

The charity’s helicopters fly 365 days-a-year providing rapid treatment, hospital transfers, and ultimately, giving the gift of time to patients across the entire North West region each year.

Each helicopter is kitted out with the most advanced equipment including a ventilation unit, vacuum mattress and state-of-the art patient monitor and defibrillator.

For more information on the North West Air Ambulance Charity or to donate, please visit www.nwaa.net or call 0800 587 4570.