tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59041601454639597802011-07-08T01:54:44.951-07:00Well, this 'n' that really!helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.comBlogger111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-79871716661278179022010-08-02T04:55:00.000-07:002010-09-10T07:06:02.799-07:00

A colleague running an air ambulance charity elsewhere in the UK recently wrote an article suggesting that Big Society will be a good thing as it will sort the wheat from the chaff of charities receiving public funding. The assumption was that public funding equals complacency and a lack of accountability! Having worked in this sector for more than 20 years I've seen more funding models than you

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-87925171462151891352010-03-26T15:39:00.000-07:002010-03-26T16:28:42.390-07:00

What I love about Twitter is that it can be all serious one minute and the next it is tatterfilarious [via @diddyman]. So many people made me laugh this week.Having a laugh is priceless therapy. So its #ff from me & #ff to you: @paul_clarke, @paulc_t @GeorgeJulian, @katiekatetweets & @juniorc0, @guy_thePR_guy, @DarenBBC, @markofrespect, @BrittW, @lesanto, @jamesmb, @nibby01, @theskink, @

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-29544110708486280382010-02-12T16:33:00.000-08:002010-03-05T15:00:39.464-08:00

A week after Like Minds 2010 and I'm finally getting round to adding my tuppence worth to the avalanche of comments and reflections since - better late than never I hope.Probably Devon Air Ambulance's most used strapline is 'real people saving real lives'. The real people here does not refer just to the paramedics and pilots who make life-saving flights almost every day of the year. Rather, it

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-374288075167835692010-02-12T13:55:00.000-08:002010-02-12T15:54:51.906-08:00

Frankly Fridays are gone too quickly. There is always too much going on during the day in an attempt to avoid weekend working. During the evening there are hopefully friends or family to wind down with. Otherwise, it is random TV, spotify, red wine and tweeting. All of a sudden I'm feeling guilty because yet again I forgot to #ff....yes?Happily I've spent the last 2 days immersed in an array

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-21910185841741127032010-01-22T04:36:00.000-08:002010-01-22T07:48:33.912-08:00

Phew - it's been an emotional rollercoaster sort of day. I thought I'd be sitting here this evening all deflated after such a big day but I've shed a tear, had a laugh and still feel excited and delighted by the amazing support Devon Air Ambulance has had today.From 12 until 3pm today (21.1.10) BBC Radio Devon broadcast from our new airbase at Eaglescott Airfield in North Devon in order to cover

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-85696647402655878752009-11-20T14:44:00.000-08:002009-11-28T00:53:12.965-08:00

Reading our accounts (available here) you might wonder why we don't refocus all our energies on the income streams which have the highest return - legacies and community fundraising or the lottery? The charity shops on the other hand, whilst generating a healthy gross profit by the standards of many businesses, are a relatively costly way of raising money for charity.This was certainly my

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-28620777249634708352009-11-13T16:42:00.000-08:002009-11-18T07:10:22.733-08:00

It is wild and woolly outside - again. Average night's sleep over the last 10 days is less than 6 so I'm probably not at my best today! This is not a complaint as it has been a very 'busy in a good way' week and a good one to illustrate what I do and why I still think I've got the best job in Devon!A small team from DAAT and I started last week with a great 2 day conference with our national

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-10241352044683465362009-10-06T04:33:00.000-07:002009-11-13T16:24:03.052-08:00

The short answer is one of 3 specially trained controllers in the ambulance control centre.The long answer is that both aircraft normally operate with a pilot and two paramedics although volunteer doctors sometimes fly as well. It is tasked from a dedicated HEMS Desk operated by despatchers who have undergone additional specialist training as well as regular familiarisation flights with crew.

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-36770486101660675872009-08-05T09:44:00.000-07:002009-08-25T07:05:11.141-07:00

Given the cost of deploying an air ambulance, people, particularly donors and supporters, are quite right to question why we respond to apparently minor injuries or sometimes turn up to find we aren't needed. There are many reasons of course as every call is unique but these generally fall into one of two categories.Location, location, location!The criteria we apply in Devon go beyond the

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-83907312275229334952009-06-29T13:57:00.000-07:002009-06-29T15:31:50.049-07:00

Devon's Air Ambulance service was founded within the community by a local mum, Ann Thomas, who lost her son Ceri when he was knocked off his bicycle. The doctor's who treated him explained that the only thing that might have saved him was getting treatment within the so called 'golden hour' after the accident.Thanks to Ann's tireless efforts over 6 years we were able to begin operations in 1992

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5904160145463959780.post-37112952703493165292009-06-03T03:52:00.000-07:002009-06-04T06:21:54.578-07:00

Devon is the only air ambulance operation in the UK to have 2 aircraft covering just one county for two key reasons.As the millions of people who visit Devon each year know, it is a beautiful, rural county with large areas of remote moorland, miles and miles of rugged coast, and more areas of outstanding natural beauty than you can shake a stick at. It has one of the longest road networks in the

helena holthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17370710906831405418noreply@blogger.com0