Air ambulance rising higher

The Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust has secured the lease of a brand new Eurocopter 135 helicopter which will be unveiled to the public on July 14.

Income development manager for the charity Pat Conafray said the new machine would be a valuable asset to the service.

He said: "The old air ambulance has been in service for nine years, but it is 30 years old and is getting towards the end of its serviceable life.

"This new helicopter is state-of-the-art.

"It's like a Tardis inside and it has an extra seat which the other one didn't have.

"This is important as it will allow a member of family or friend to travel in the ambulance with the patient, which we couldn't do before.

"It's also got bigger engines which allows it to travel greater distances and quicker speeds, which will be invaluable in covering the three counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire."

The air ambulance costs £150,000 a month to run, with all the money coming from charitable donations to the trust.

The air ambulance crews have spent the past week practising in the helicopter, getting used to its new systems.

Mr Conafray said: "Normally the co-pilots also act as navigators, but the new helicopter comes with GPS navigation systems, so they have been getting used to those.

"Obviously they will still need to keep maps on board just in case, but it is a very handy tool for them that will speed up responses to call-outs."

Other new features of the air ambulance include the ability to load patients into the side of the helicopter as well as the rear and a better winching system capable of lifting heavier loads.

The new helicopter comes into service just as the old one completes its 10,000th mission and Mr Conafray said he hoped the new one would go on to be as well used.

It will be unveiled to the public at The Oxfordshire Golf Club in Rycote Lane, Milton Common, near Thame, at 2pm on Monday, July 14.