Life-saving charity celebrated during National Air Ambulance Week

From just one helicopter flying out of a temporary airbase to three helicopters serving a population of over six million people, Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC) has come a long way since 1991.

In the past 27 years, the charity has responded to more than 50,000 missions making it one of the longest established and busiest air ambulance organisations in the UK.

National Air Ambulance Week, which started yesterday, aims to raise the profile of air ambulance charities and the vital need for donations to ensure they are here for generations to come.

From the pilots and medics to the fundraising and admin staff, everyone plays their part in keeping MAAC flying fit so crews can respond to those most critically injured.

With the ability to reach 90 per cent of the region within just eight minutes, it saves precious time for those who need immediate medical attention and specialist hospital treatment quickly.

Marcus Watkin knows first-hand how important the charity is.

The 51-year-old father-of-two was riding a motorbike which collided with a car at Halfway House, near Shrewsbury, in 2002.

He suffered multiple injuries and was flown by air ambulance to Royal Stoke University Hospital.

"My life was saved by the skilled staff at the north Staffordshire trauma centre, and by Midlands Air Ambulance Charity who got me there from the crash at Halfway House so quickly," he said.

"Without them I’m confident that I wouldn’t be here today."

Mr Watkin, who was a car valeter before the accident, spent a year in hospital and was left wheelchair bound with a spinal injury.

He has since given his time to volunteer for MAAC, giving talks about the charity at schools, colleges and community groups.

"I've lost count of how many talks I've done," said Mr Watkin, who lives in Shrewsbury.

"They saved my life, and volunteering is my way of giving something back to the charity.

"I talk about how the charity operates, how much it needs to run, the fact we are not government funded – a lot of people are shocked by that.

"The charity provides a vital service to the millions of people in the six counties it covers, and it has the largest geographical coverage of any air ambulance service in the UK, covering 5,500 square miles.

"I really enjoy going to primary schools and taking MAAC, our larger than life mascot.

"He’s well received by the children and I like to think that they are inspired to fundraise through the schools following a visit and talk from us.

"I feel that every week in the year is important to air ambulance charities, and this week in particular will help raise awareness that they exist for the benefit of all."

Chris Levey makes sure those life-saving missions get off the ground as one of the two base pilots of Helimed 03, the 145 helicopter based at RAF Cosford.

The 45-year-old former paramedic, from Stafford, has been flying with MAAC for four-and-a-half years and says he is fortunate to work with a great team of people that do 'remarkable things'.

"As the duty pilot, our responsibilities are with all the aviation aspects of the operation," he said.

"The day starts with preparing the aircraft with pre-flight checks. We look at the weight, balance and expected performance of the aircraft with the day's crew and current weather conditions.

"When that's all done, we brief the crew on all of the above and then wait to see if the 'red' phone rings.

"We don’t know where we’ll be sent until the phone rings, and so a short flight can be very busy, especially travelling at 150mph.

"As a crew we’ll be working hard to plot the location, work out what airspace and hazards we’ll be transiting through, getting updates from the air desk, and assessing options for hospitals in terms of clinical need, weather and fuel.

"Once overhead the location, we assess the best place for us to land and once on the ground, the crew exit the aircraft rotors running to go and do their day job."

One of the medics is Dr Richard Browne, who is based on the aircraft at RAF Cosford.

When he is not carrying out his role as a consultant in pre-hospital emergency medicine, he is a consultant in intensive care medicine at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he looks after many of the patients flown in by the charity.

The 37-year-old, of Stourbridge, who has been with the charity about three years, says there is no such thing as a typical day.

"We never know what we will be called to, but we start each day by checking our kit, drugs and the aircraft, ensuring we are ready for an emergency call," he said.

"In between calls we spend time maintaining kit, keeping up to date with new guidelines and protocols and undertaking training and teaching at the base, particularly if we have a paramedic or doctor in training to work on the aircraft.

"We also play host to many visitors at the airbase, from past patients we've cared for to fundraisers for the charity."

He says having the privilege to look after people who are critically ill and injured when they need assistance the most is an 'honour'.

Dr Browne added: "MAAC is a great organisation which ensures the people of the Midlands get immediate access to highly skilled and trained teams who can provide lifesaving care wherever they need it and hopefully increase their chances of survival and get them to the right hospital in a short time frame. It's all down to the skilled work of the pilots, critical care paramedics and doctors who work for us, and of course the fundraisers."

Working alongside him on every shift are the critical care paramedics, who man all three of the charity's aircrafts as well as a critical care car which operates from Oldbury.

They also work in the regional control room at West Midlands Ambulance Service's headquarters in Brierley Hill, trying to identify the most serious cases where sending an air ambulance could make a life-changing difference.

Ian Lock, of Newport, is a critical care paramedic, responding to such incidents as crashes, falls, heart attacks, strokes, stabbings and serious assaults.

The air ambulance he travels aboard may be able to respond to up to half a dozen incidents a day, but weather can be one of the biggest challenges.

As well as the medical side, which can involve negotiating tricky situations, he also has to think about safety around the aircraft and be briefed on the weather forecast and flying conditions.

Mr Lock, 43, said: "We get sent to the more serious cases, which by their nature mean they do not always have a happy ending.

"I do however know that for a number of patients, MAAC has been the difference between life and death, either due to the helicopter and its ability to bypass nearest hospitals and convey to the best hospital, or the enhanced care team it now flies with as standard.

"There are people in the local area that wouldn’t be alive or have the life they have now without MAAC.

"It's always rewarding to be able to make a difference."

Sarah Folley was a paramedic for 18 years and worked from Shrewsbury ambulance station before joining MAAC in April.

The 39-year-old, of Neachley, is a trainee specialist trauma paramedic and says it differs massively to what she was doing before.

Her job is to identify and respond to specifically tasked emergencies by air and provide emergency treatment on scene.

"It's very full of trauma, it's a completely different set of jobs," she said.

"It's something that is completely unexpected. You see a lot more younger people while working on the helicopter. You carry a lot more drugs for different conditions and more specific to trauma.

"I joined the air ambulance as I was impressed by the trauma network and the extended skills that the clinicians within the charity can bring to the scene of an accident.

"I feel privileged to see first-hand where the charity money goes. I get to see the difference that time-saving interventions brought by being transported by helicopter make. Seeing this every day is a credit to anyone who has ever donated money to MAAC.

"At the aircraft open days it's lovely. People will tell you about the times they were airlifted and the difference it made to their lives."

She said it is great to spend this week reflecting on the lives saved and the importance of charitable donations which are so vital.

For Tracy Smith, her job involves collecting those donations.

The 58-year-old, of Gobowen, is an events and collections coordinator and has been working with the charity for 18 years.

She empties thousands of collection tins that have been put in shops, pubs and community spaces across the Midlands, and collects donations from people who have been fundraising.

"A typical day for me would start with preparing my route for the day," she said.

"I could be emptying tins on a set route or doing calls where people have contacted us to say they need a tin emptying or a donation collecting.

"While out collecting I am always hearing stories from people who have had the air ambulance come to them or a family member or friend. I also often see it flying overhead when I am out and about.

"People are really generous. What we collect is enough to pay for the fuel for the aircrafts.

"It is vital for people to raise funds for MAAC. It takes £9 million a year to fund the three helicopters we have and we don’t have any government funding. We all go about our lives and we hope that we will never need to use it but are really glad to know it is there if we do. The air ambulance saves lives by saving time."

Sandra Speck is one of the charity's vital fundraisers and has helped to raise £100,000 in the past decade through sponsored dances, raffles and other events.

The 53-year-old, of Harmer Hill, north of Shrewsbury, teaches line dancing in the county.

She said: "I joined as a fundraiser when one of my line dancers was involved in a serious head-on collision.

"If it wasn’t for MAAC, she wouldn’t have survived – we live out in the country and it would have taken too long to travel by road."

Back at MAAC's headquarters in Stourbridge, Kenton Samuels helps to process donations and handle queries as one of the charity's admin assistants.

The 42-year-old, who lives on the outskirts of Wolverhampton, has been with the charity for just over six months.

"I joined because I wanted to be a part of a very worthwhile charity that does an excellent job in our community," he said.

"I think the charity has a wonderful purpose, and is hugely valuable to the communities it serves. It’s very forward thinking, both in its workplace and clinical operations."

He said the generosity of people is 'staggering' and has met some of the people the charity has helped.

Mr Samuels said: "A guy came in to make a donation, we had helped him, he had a cardiac arrest while out cycling.

"Just to feel that we played a part in this guy being alive is something else."

He also donates his time to fundraising throughout the year and will be taking part in the charity's MAAC’n’Cheese event, a new fundraising idea from MAAC which will see him come together with colleagues over a cheese board to catch up and donate a few pounds to the charity.

MAAC also wants people across the Midlands to host their own cheese inspired fundraiser.

Visit midlandsairambulance.com/maacncheese for more details.