On the 28th November 2022 members of Yorkshire and North and East Ridings and West Riding Masonic Charities presented a cheque to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) for £85,000.
The YAA has seen recent significant increases in its running costs, now running at £19,000 per day, which include fuel, utilities, maintenance, and support costs. Aviation fuel costs alone have doubled in the last 12 months. The YAA relies entirely on donations, receiving no government support. The donation will be used to support the purchase of an additional vehicle and offer further financial support to the YAA charity.
The YAA is a charity much like the RNLI - it is a charity that one hopes one never needs, but when it is needed it offers quick and speedy responses to critical incidents. It supplies not only trained medical staff (including doctors and nurses) on the scene but also prevents delays in transporting the casualty to hospital meaning that chances of survival in serious injury increase. The YAA also carries much needed blood to the scene of critical incidents. Many patients have blood administered at the scene.
In addition, nearly 1 in 5 of the incidents involving the YAA require high grade specialist analgesia that can only be delivered by the highly trained personnel that the aircraft carries on board.
When it comes to the specialist skills that the YAA deliver to the scene of the accident many will require complex surgical procedures, procedures that a normal ambulance would be unable to provide at the scene. The YAA state that 26% of patients that they treated in 2022 required a complex procedure or HEMS skill to be carried out at scene.
In 2022 the YAA attended 295 incidents in Yorkshire, 268 in North Yorkshire, 359 in West Yorkshire and 252 in South Yorkshire along with 19 incidents outside of our area, meaning it offered support in other counties.
Major changes are occurring at the YAA to enhance the service. These include:-
- The employment of more technical crew members on the aircraft – This support role (all have advanced medical training) will allow the doctors and nurses in the medical team to focus on their clinical duties and the care of their patients.
- The YAA is also investing in a third helicopter. This long-term strategic move improves the YAA operational availability, and therefore will have the potential to save even more lives.
Freemasons across all the Ridings of Yorkshire are proud to offer much needed support to the YAA, and the YAA in turn are proud to display the Square and Compass on the aircraft and the promotional vehicle in recognition of our support.
