Police flights plan is threat to medics
The future of the West’s police helicopters and air ambulances was thrown into doubt yesterday after the Government announced a radical overhaul of the way the emergency services work.
Police minister Nick Herbert is to set up a National Police Air Service, which will take over from the historic ad-hoc arrangements for police helicopters, and that is almost certain to mean a cut in the number of police helicopters currently serving the West.
It will also mean an uncertain future for Wiltshire’s air ambulance, which is one of only two emergency helicopters shared with the police.
There are currently 32 aircraft at 30 air bases across the country, but this will be cut to 22 bases serving 24 aircraft – saving £15 million a year from police budgets.
At present, Gloucestershire Constabulary share a police helicopter with the Avon and Somerset force which is based at Filton, near Bristol, while Wiltshire police share a Devizes-based helicopter with the county’s air ambulance charity.
But the new National Police Air Service will see one chopper based at Colerne in Wiltshire serving most of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Avon and Somerset. The nearest other NPAS helicopters will be at Bournemouth in Dorset, Benson in Oxfordshire, Exeter Airport and Birmingham Airport.
Mr Herbert will say the National Police Air Service (NPAS) will provide forces with access to helicopters 24 hours a day, 365 days year, rather than a force’s helicopter being out of use for weeks for repairs.
“Chief officers of all forces in England and Wales have given their support to the proposal, as have the overwhelming majority of police authorities in principle. But to get the full benefits, the commitment of the whole of the police service in England and Wales is needed,” Mr Herbert said, adding that he was prepared to force through changes even if the police did not agree.
What the implications will be for the Filton and Devizes-based helicopters remains uncertain. Wiltshire police have an agreement with the Wiltshire Air Ambulance charity until the end of 2014, which police chiefs said they were keen to stick to. At present, the charity has to raise around a million pounds a year to pay for its half of the helicopter – if the deal ended it would have to raise more than £2 million to keep a standalone air ambulance in the skies over Wiltshire.
Wiltshire Police Authority chairman Christopher Hoare said: “We are currently in discussion with the NPAS as to whether any national arrangement would serve the public of Wiltshire and these negotiations are still ongoing.
“We would wish to see NPAS committing to honour the contract. The charity are being kept fully sighted on the negotiations that are taking place.”
5 Comments
by Dave_Weston
Monday, January 30 2012, 2:16PM
“To some degree the Wiltshire one has always been a bit of an anomaly with its police share rather than being in line with its ambulance service - Wiltshire comes under the Great Western Ambulance Trust, most of which is covered for air ambulance by the Great Western Air Ambulance charity. So if the Police air cover is to be spread over Wiltshire, Somerset and Gloucestershire (to use the old counties!), maybe it would make sense for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance to partner up with the Great Western Air Ambulance, with a view possibly to getting a second helicopter partly to cover the wider area, but also to minimise downtime when a sole chopper would be out of service for maintenance etc.”
by grinbear
Monday, January 30 2012, 12:43PM
“McFrank, it is worth remembering that the current Air Ambulance is shared by Medical Teams and the Police and that the Medical side of the Air Ambulance is Funded BY VOLUNTARY DONATIONS..
It is understood that the Police make up the shortfall and, of course, we all know that this comes from our Council Tax Budget spent by our local Councils..I truly hope that should you ever be involved in a serious accident and need to be air lifted to hospital to save your life, you will perhaps then be more aware of the AMAZING service that the Ambulance side of the "chopper" provides ??..I agree that for the Police to take the Ambulance up to "seek out Drug Houses" IS a questionable non priority of Air Ambulance Services..we can only pray that if the chopper is up looking for Drug Houses that there are not too may people dying by the side of the road because the Police have got "priority air space" ??..Financial Info and Amounts is available and I suggest you take a look at these before you suggest that "money will be saved" by "getting rid of the air ambulance" ??..
Without the Voluntary Funding raised by Supporters of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, the Police would be 1 chopper down.. I doubt the Police have that much spare Budget at the 'mo to do any more than cut their Police Staff and spend a fortune defending the Police that are suspended Locally and.. on full pay pending Court Cases..
Because of the generous donations from the people of Westbury AND other Counties, the Wiltshire Air Ambulance has been able to save thousands of lives ..If anyone has tried to report a problem to the Police lately, no doubt the old adage of "you can never find a policeman when you want one" IS true these days..
There will be NO money saved if the Air Ambulance goes..There WILL be more deaths and deep sadness where an airlift to hospital could have saved a life..”
by wheelie_bin
Sunday, January 29 2012, 7:07AM
“Perhaps if the Police helicopters were paid for out of donations and the air ambulance funded not only would it save more lives but we might get more sleep when there is a major crime like late night shoplifting that involves air support.”
by JessePinkman
Sunday, January 29 2012, 6:12AM
“They can use the money saved by not picking up tiresome injured people on raiding deadly "cannabis farms", where the world's most expensive cannabis is grown - ~ £300 a plant.
"The raid was a joint operation between Wiltshire and Avon and Somerset forces and involved around 30 officers, including two dog units, the armed response group, the dedicated crime team and other support teams."”
by McFrank
Saturday, January 28 2012, 11:43PM
“Air cop or air ambulance? Well the air cop rate of capture is quite low (a report by this paper told of a 'no capture' a few days ago in the Bath area). Whereas the pick up rate for injured persons is very high! YEP! Get rid of the air ambulance. That will make sense to our government! Look at ALL the money that will be saved. Lives lost??????? Think of ALL that nice money saved!”