Chopper kept busy all over Scotland
A review of 2016 at Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance shows the life-saving helicopter attending emergencies throughout almost all of Scotland.
The crew made flights into every health board region in the country apart from Shetland, treating and airlifting sick and injured patients to vital hospital care.
Incidents in Tayside accounted for 41 per cent of the aircraft responses and Ninewells remains the most visited receiving hospital by the crew.
Throughout the year 67 patients were delivered to the Dundee hospital by the air ambulance.
SCAA was equally busy in the west of the country throughout 2016, with 30 patients airlifted to the country’s largest hospital, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital at Glasgow, and a further 18 to the Royal Alexandra Hospital at Paisley, six to the Golden Jubilee National Hospital at Clydebank and nine to Crosshouse Hospital at Kilmarnock.
SCAA also airlifted patients to hospitals all across the country, including to Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
July proved to be the busiest month for the helicopter and Saturday the busiest day of the week. The busiest time of the day for emergency call-outs proved to be between noon and 2pm.
Trauma emergencies again dominate the mission log for 2016, with road traffic collisions topping the table, followed by falls and equestrian accidents.
Strokes and cardiac emergencies also featured strongly, with SCAA’s ability to respond quickly, especially to remote areas, proving vital.
Local supporters and fundraisers have been busy already this year.
New Year Day lovers of fish and chips helped raise £1677.65 when they visited The Plaice To Be in Pitlochry.
The fish and chip shop kindly made over all sales for that day to SCAA, the second year they have made the tasty fundraising gesture.
Aberfeldy Gaelic Choir hit just the right note with a donation of £740 raised at a recent concert.
And collections at Fortingall and Glenlyon Church over the festive period raised £387 for the charity.
A very welcome £6000 donation also came from the League of Friends of Aberfeldy Cottage Hospital.
And members of Masonic Lodge 657 Breadalbane added £200 to SCAA’s fundraising this week.
Agrivision Scotland Ltd at Blairgowrie has ploughed a further £1600 towards SCAA. They staged a charity ploughing match at the end of the year to raise the funds.
Thanks also to the Ex-Servicemen’s Club in Perth for their most recent donation of £292.51.
And collection cans emptied at SCAA this week include those from: Adam Boyd newsagents in Crieff (£41.71); Callander Post Office (£100) and S and D Cura newsagents in Bridge of Earn (£68.36).
People in the Coupar Angus area are being asked to support a charity shop being run by the Edwards family in support of SCAA next week.
The charity shop on George Street will feature “everything and anything” and will open on Sunday from noon-4pm and then un Saturday, January 21, from 9.15am-4pm.