Our 2014 event was held in support of the North West Air Ambulance Charity.

The North West Air Ambulance is a charity which has been flying life-saving missions throughout the North West region since 1999 and has a helicopter based at City Airport & Heliport.

Flying seven days a week, 365 days a year they cover 5,500 square miles and a population of around eight million people. On average the North West Air Ambulance is called out five times a day, rising up to ten in the summer. It costs in excess of £4.2 million per year to maintain both aircraft, but with almost no central government or lottery funding, the charity rely on the generosity of supporters.

Avoiding problems of distance and congestion, the helicopters are never further than 10 minutes to the nearest hospital in the region, whether flying from the North West’s remote countryside, busy motorways or city centres.

This means that patients involved in major trauma, especially with head or spinal injuries, can receive medical treatment quickly before being transferred to a specialist hospital in record time. By receiving treatment at the scene by highly qualified paramedics using sophisticated equipment and arriving at hospital within the ‘Golden Hour’, the patient’s chances of survival and speed of recovery are dramatically improved.

The helicopters also operate urgent hospital transfers for critically ill or injured patients, particularly those needing to travel long distances for emergency surgery, and those with spinal injuries.

For more information, see www.nwaa.net