Air Ambulance awarded £1million from bank fines

Banking fines are being put to good use after being awarded to a children's ambulance charity in Warwickshire.
The Air Ambulance Service.The Air Ambulance Service.
The Air Ambulance Service.

The Children’s Air Ambulance, which is operated by The Air Ambulance Service, has been awarded £1million in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

The Air Ambulance Service moved into its new headquarters in Rugby last month and flies out of Coventry Airport.

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The Children’s Air Ambulance, which is the sister service to the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance and the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance, is a national service that flies critically ill children from local hospitals to specialist paediatric intensive care units.

It is the first and only dedicated paediatric helicopter emergency transfer service in the country.

Each children’s transfer the charity carries out costs an average of £2,800.

The awarded money is from The Libor fund, which comes from fines levied on the banking industry for manipulating the Libor rate. The donation will go towards the service’s expansion plans which will see two new helicopters take to the skies next year.

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The Children’s Air Ambulance is the sister service to the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance and the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance.

In September the national transfer service for critically ill children signed a £32 million deal for two new AW169 helicopters and revealed plans to establish two new bases in the north and south of the country.

Andy Williamson, CEO of The Air Ambulance Service charity, said: “We are grateful for the generous allocation from the Libor fines that will be used to help more children across the UK.

“It comes at an exciting time for the Children’s Air Ambulance as we work towards expanding our vital service with two new helicopters next year.”

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The Libor award will go towards equipping the new helicopters and establishing the new bases.

The expansion of the national Children’s Air Ambulance will mean it can meet demand for its unique services, ensuring it can help every child in the UK who needs a lifesaving flight.