May 2012 - Police Aviation News

Police Aviation News May 2012 17
GLOUCESTERSHIRE: THE helipad at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is to be extended
so it can be used again, at a cost of £140,000.
Air ambulances have not touched down at the landing site in Gloucester since construction
started on a new multi-storey car park in April 2010. The car park opened last April and although
it conformed to regulations when it was originally planned, it is now in breach.
Health bosses have confirmed funds for an extension have been allocated and a start on
the work is imminent.
The work will involve clearing a small area near the emergency department, formerly used
as drop-off parking.
ISLE OF WIGHT: The new Isle of Wight NHS Trust has welcomed the approval of planning
permission for a helipad at St. Mary’s Hospital, Newport. This will enable patients with
life threatening injuries to be flown from the Trauma Unit at St. Mary’s to the Trauma Centre
at University Hospital Southampton.
MIDLANDS: PAN has recently carried editorial stories that suggested some disquiet
among the wider charity air ambulance community about the activities of The Children’s Air
Ambulance [TCAA] charity. Whilst the expectation was that the AAA would eventually make
a statement on behalf of its members, it was not to be.
It seems that someone at the Midland Air Ambulance [MAAC] could not wait for the AAA to
grasp the nettle. A document that was circulating among delegates and raising eyebrows at
the recent Quarterly Meeting of the AAA was issued to the media in the wake of the meeting.
MAAC distanced itself from TCAA and The Air Ambulance Service. (TAAS) and urged the
public to understand the difference between these charities and MAAC, and the concerning
history of TCAA before donating.
At some length the oft heard tale of woe relating to TCAA wasting money and not having an
aircraft was recited for a wide public consumption. Even the December 5, 2011 TAAS take
at PAvCon
Bonn
5-6 June 2012