Cornwall Air Ambulance to receive Government grant to reach more patients

Cornwall Air Ambulance is set to receive a one-off grant from the Government to help reach more patients in need across Cornwall.

The charity has been awarded £1,397,700 following an announcement earlier this year from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that the Government would be making £10 million available to support the funding of capital projects for air ambulance charities in England.

£897k will go towards expanding crew operations facilities at the charity’s Newquay base, to support increasing flying hours and reaching up to two more patients per day. The remainder is awarded towards the cost of the new AW169 air ambulance, and will mean the charity will need to borrow less money to meet the total purchase cost of £7.5 million.

Paula Martin, Chief Executive of Cornwall Air Ambulance, said: “We are delighted that the Government has awarded over £1.3 million to Cornwall Air Ambulance to benefit the people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, as well as visitors to the Duchy. This one-off grant will speed up plans to extend operations and increase the number of hours Cornwall Air Ambulance flies from 12 to 19 every day. This will mean the critical care crew could help up to two more seriously sick and injured patients every day.”

Chairman of the Appeal Board and Trustee of Cornwall Air Ambulance, Barbara Sharples, added: “The news of this grant is very exciting. My message to Cornwall is this grant doesn’t affect the £2.5 million New Heli Appeal- the charity still needs to raise a further £1 million to bring the helicopter to Cornwall by April 2020. We are now so close to being able to say we have done it, and urgently need everyone to keep fundraising and doing their bit to help us reach the target as quickly as possible.”

With no Government funding towards day to day operating costs of the helicopter, the charity will continue to rely on donations from the people and businesses of Cornwall to fund its lifesaving missions each year.