Each year GDF SUEZ Energy UK nominate a local charity to support for a year. This year’s selected charity is:
The Yorkshire Air Ambulance
The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent charity providing a life saving rapid response emergency service to 5 million people across Yorkshire. They fly seven days a week, 365 days a year, covering a vast landscape that not only includes major cities and motor ways, but also rural and isolated locations. The charity serves a population of approximately 5 million people across 4 million acres. Their two air ambulances operate from Leeds Bradford International Airport and Bagby Airfield near Thirsk, and together both air ambulances cover the whole of the region.
The charity was set up in 2000 and with the addition of the second air ambulance in October 2007, Yorkshire Air Ambulance were the first Air Ambulance in the UK to own and operate a Dedicated Air Desk. With the addition of the Air Ways Communication Systems, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance has developed into a sophisticated emergency service that provides state-of-the-art emergency medial care throughout Yorkshire. The swift medical interventions provided by the air ambulance crews have a major impact on a patient’s chance of survival and subsequent quality of life. On average, when a patient has been received by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, they will always be only 10 minutes from the nearest hospital and 15 minutes from the most relevant treatment centre. In some cases, this can save people’s lives.