London's Air Ambulance Blog (HEMS)

Biggin Hill International Air Fair 2008

From June 7th to June 8th 2008, London's Air Ambulance staff and rapid response vehicles will be attending the Biggin Hill International Air Fair. We are thrilled to announce that the Charity has been nominated as Charity of the Year at Biggin Hill, and are looking forward to attending this fantastic event once more.

You may have seen us at Biggin Hill over the last few years, standing out from the crowd in our bright orange flight suits, if you're planning to attend Biggin Hill in June do come over and say hello to the team, ask us any questions, and buy London's Air Ambulance merchandise.

For more information on the displays and exhibitors, and for ticket sales please click HERE

To read more about our partnership with Biggin Hill Airfield, click on the press release below:
Download biggin_hill_air_show_2008.pdf

Charity Search Engines

When searching for something online it's so easy just to use one of the major search engines, most of us now have search boxes in our internet toolbars for ease. With just one tiny change, every single search you make online could help to raise money for a charity of your choice.

London's Air Ambulance are working with Everyclick.Com to raise money with just a click of the mouse, and in 2008 we are participating in a new campaign to promote the use of Everyclick as much as possible. The more people who use Everyclick on our behalf, the more money we raise, and the more chance we have of winning the incredible opportunity of designing a new advertising campaign to raise the profile of the charity, completely free.

So, if you've got a free moment today, why not download the Everyclick toolbar function, post a link on your facebook page, stick a button on your blog or website, or reset your homepage. If nothing else, it's a break from work that wont get you in trouble with the IT department

Sporting Events 2007

The staff and crew of London's Air Ambulance invite you to join us at two sporting fundraising events this autumn.

The thrill seekers among you will enjoy taking part in our Pro-Kart Endurance Race on Wednesday 26th September 2007. As a team of 4 to 8 members you can race around the Outdoor International Circuit at Buckmore Park in Kent. Racing professional karts reaching speeds of up to 70mph all drivers will be fully briefed and provided with racing gear before driving a practice lap and honing your skills in the hopes of winning a trophy.

London's Air Ambulance Charity Golf Challenge on Monday 1st October 2007 will be hosted by the legendary Ed Srewart at the beautiful Foxhils Club and Resort, Surrey. Enter a four ball for the chance to win amazing on course prizes including an Alfa Romeo Spider, Nike Sling Shot OSS Irons and golfing weekends in Portugal and at The Belfry. Tickets include 18 holes of competitive golf, refreshments, a Champagne Reception, full 3 course dinner, after dinner entertainment, trophies for winning teams, and the opportunity to bid on some stunning items in our Charity Auction.

For further information on either of these events or to book a place for your team, please contact our Fundraising Office, visit our website or download the booking forms below:

Download go_karting_flyer_september_2007.pdf 

Download gokarting_booking_info_september_2007.pdf 

Download laa_golf_poster_new_october1st.pdf 

Download laa_booking_form_new_october1st 

Road Safety Event, Trafalgar Square

London's Air Ambulance are pleased to be working with the Metropolitan Police to promote road safety for cyclists and pedestrians at an event today and tomorrow in Trafalgar Square.

In 2006 alone, London's Air Ambulance treated 243 pedestrians involved in accidents with vehicles, 548 road traffic accident victims, and 182 children, the majority of whom were injured on the roads.

The number of cyclists injured or killed on London's roads has risen dramatically in recent years, and promoting the importance of safety gear, and road awareness has the potential to reverse these figures, and save many lives

The HEMS team are especially grateful that funds raised by collections at the event will be donated to London's Air Ambulance, to keep our service running

BBC Coverage of the Event can be found HERE

New Car

The HEMS team were thrilled to officially launch the new London's Air Ambulance Fundraising car this afternoon at Outback Steakhouse in Wandsworth.

Outback staff and customers have been raising money to support the charity for the past year, and have now raised £18,000 pounds for the charity to completely cover the cost of a new fundraising car for three years.

We use the fundraising car for day-to-day activities such as Open Days, Exhibitions, Events such as Air Shows and Conferences, transporting equipment, merchandise, buckets, and of course our fundraising team all around London and the surrounding areas. With our car usage in mind, the team chose a Mercedes A Class Diesel as  a vehicle small enough to nip through the streets of  London but roomy enough to hold the large amounts of merchandise and equipment we regularly transport.

We're thrilled that the new car is now online, and especially excited by the CD changer and incomparable 'new car' smell. To celebrate, we spent the evening at Outback Wandsworth with Nick and the team for the official handing over the keys, a celebration of their 6th birthday, and a fantastic meal.

From all of the team, a BIG THANK YOU to all the staff and customers at Outback Wandsworth for the funding, to Mercedes Park Royal for our shiny car, and to M&L Ambulance Service for providing the graphics for the car.

See Photographs of the launch HERE

Children's Art Competition

Would your child, youth group, Scout group, Brownie group or School Class like to create some art of our helicopter, aircraft, doctors, paramedics or pilots? Drawings, paintings, collage and any other ideas are welcome. Let their imaginations go wild. Once the entries start flowing in you can see your entries displayed in our Image Gallery. For ideas, take a look at our current Image Gallery here on the blog, and on our main website for pictures of the Helicopter and our staff in action.

For just £1 per entry, every child will receive a London's Air Ambulance wrist band and the chance to win some wonderful prizes.

The winner of each age group will receive a toy model helicopter and runners up will receive a certificate. The overall winner and two runners up (with one parent/guardian each) will win the chance to visit the Helipad and have their photograph taken with the helicopter and the crew

Age Groups:
4-5
6-7
8-9
9-10
10-11

If your school/group are particularly interested in the Air Ambulance, please give us a call to discuss arranging a talk/assembly about the Air Ambulance by one of our volunteers. We have presentations designed for children and groups of young people, reminding them on issues of road safety and telling them about the work of the Air Ambulance

Please send your entries to:
London's Air Ambulance Children's Art Competition
The Helipad
The Royal London Hospital
London
E1 1BB

or call 020 7943 1302 for further information

Closing date for Entries: Friday 6th July 2007
Winners will be announced on the website & blog, and contacted through details provided on entry/through their school

Fundraising Competition

Are you a Medical Student or student of Paramedic Science at a UK University?

If so, you are eligible to take part in our Fundraising Competition. The Student who raises the most money, in the most innovative way, will win an observer shift with the Medic 1 team in our MD Explorer 902. The runner-up will win an observer shift in a Rapid Response Car with the Medic 1 team

The competition is running from March 1st 2007 until June 30th 2007, and will be judged by Medical Director Gareth Davies, and Chief Executive Andrew Cameron.

To receive an information pack about the competition, email your name, address, medical school/university, and year group to us HERE 

NB: This competition is only open to UK based students studying Medicine or Paramedic Sciences

Kick-Off, Sunday 11th March

The current gossip on the Helipad is largely about our Charity Football Match on Sunday 11th March

As our Team Captain convinces Paramedics, Doctors, Pilots and support staff to pull on football boots instead of flight suits for the day, our opposition (and event organisers) M&L Ambulance Service email almost daily to check we haven't been training too hard.

It should be a great day at Cricklefield Stadium, Ilford Football Club, Ilford (and the weather promises to be sunny),  our teams have been reassuring each other that despite quite how large the pitch is beginning to look, at least there will be plenty of medical support on hand if they get a stitch...

The fundraising team will be busy jumping on the bouncy castle, making friends with the cheerleaders, and of course raising money. The proceeds from the match will be split between London's Air Ambulance and Richard House. For those of you not familiar with the charity, Richard House is the first Children's Hospice in London, providing respite and end-of-life care for children, and offering a wonderful service.

Come along on Sunday and meet the HEMS team (once they've got their breath back), and take part in the Raffle and Charity Auction. Tickets are £5, under 16s go free when accompanied by an adult. Email for more details.