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Police helicopter may be grounded
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| Paramedic CTL Richard Miller and police observer Nigel Gilbert in the Wiltshire Police and Air Ambulance helicopter. DB4122P06 |
WILTSHIRE'S police chief has warned the future of the police helicopter is under threat as the force fails to strike a new five-year deal with the air ambulance.
The lease on the Explorer helicopter shared by both services is due to be renewed in December, but the Great Western Ambulance Service Trust (GWAS) has offered to sign up for between one and
two years, rather than five, while it carries out a review.
Wiltshire Police's Chief Constable Brian Moore said yesterday that negotiations are still going on, but warned that without the air ambulance funding, the police would not be able to afford a helicopter service of their own.
"If our partners in the helicopter withdraw, there will be about a half-a-million pound funding gap to close," he said. "I don't have that money, and at this stage I can't see where it would come from.
"I won't be able to operate a police helicopter, and that has significant safety implications for the people of Wiltshire."
The force issued figures showing that in 2007 the helicopter attended a total of 1,671 incidents, including police and ambulance calls.
It located 15 missing people and 14 vehicles, and was able to undertake high-speed chases that would have posed a risk to officers and the public if police cars were used instead. Its crew were directly involved in 95 arrests and assisted in another 96.
It carried a total of 366 patients, and attended 167 medical incidents at night-time - whereas an ambulance based at Filton would only be available during the day.
"I want to make sure the interests of the public are not forgotten," said Mr Moore. "To lose the air ambulance would undermine the policing capability of this force. I ask all parties to think about the future."
Campaigners fear GWAS plans to regionalise air ambulance coverage, replacing Wiltshire's Devizes-based helicopter with its new service, to be based at Filton, north of Bristol.
GWAS has denied the claims and said the new Avon service is an entirely different issue and not connected to the review in Wiltshire.
A GWAS spokesman said: "The Wiltshire Air Ambulance is not under threat. We are committed to providing effective air ambulance cover to the people of Wiltshire and with it, the best clinical care possible. We want to continue our relationship with the police. The contract for the air ambulance is in the process of being re-negotiated with the police and we are seeking a two year extension whilst we are undertaking a review of the best clinical ways of providing services to patients.
"We would like to thank the people of Wiltshire for their support of Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal. It is a well-loved charity that has kept the Wiltshire Air Ambulance going for the last 15 years. We also support the charity and we only want to see the service get even better."
9:02am Wednesday 21st May 2008
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CommentPosted by: jpjp, Wiltshire on 3:45pm Thu 22 May 08
The Air Ambulance guys want to do a significantly superior service for us with a dedicated aircraft - BECAUSE a shared-use aircraft is not viable due to conflicts in who gets to use it. What happens when the currect helicopter is in use as an ambulance, sitting on the ground for an hour while the patient is stablised, and the police want to use it? That's why the air ambulance want to do their own thing!
The Police need to understand the benefits of a helicopter and thus how to justify the funding. Our helicopter only flies 500 hours a year (air ambulance included), when counties like Dorset with similar size population get more than double that from police use alone. [Plus Dorset benefit from corporate sponsorship of their police helicopter]. The night-time argument does not hold either - in Sussex where they used to have a shared-use helicopter like ours, the air ambulance now does its own thing and puts an additional £250K funding into the police helicopter for night use.
I think the Chief Constable should tell us why they don't use the helicopter to protect us better than they are now - "use it or lose it"... If there is no justification for a full-time police helicopter, then hire one in from a neighbouring force just like Kent do.
The Air Ambulance guys want to do a significantly superior service for us with a dedicated aircraft - BECAUSE a shared-use aircraft is not viable due to conflicts in who gets to use it. What happens when the currect helicopter is in use as an ambulance, sitting on the ground for an hour while the patient is stablised, and the police want to use it? That's why the air ambulance want to do their own thing!
The Police need to understand the benefits of a helicopter and thus how to justify the funding. Our helicopter only flies 500 hours a year (air ambulance included), when counties like Dorset with similar size population get more than double that from police use alone. . The night-time argument does not hold either - in Sussex where they used to have a shared-use helicopter like ours, the air ambulance now does its own thing and puts an additional £250K funding into the police helicopter for night use.
I think the Chief Constable should tell us why they don't use the helicopter to protect us better than they are now - "use it or lose it"... If there is no justification for a full-time police helicopter, then hire one in from a neighbouring force just like Kent do.
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