20 Nov 2014
London’s Air Ambulance has collected two key awards at the 2014 Air Ambulance Awards of Excellence. This year's recognition went to the PR campaign marking London’s Air Ambulance’s 25th anniversary and to 5 year-old JJ Butcher who swam 200 metres to raise over £2,000 after his uncle was treated by the service.
Commenting, Graham Hodgkin, CEO of London’s Air Ambulance said: “It is always an honour to be nominated for any award, but to win two of the categories, and to be runner up in a third was truly humbling. The Association of Air Ambulances’ Awards of Excellence make this even more profound as the recognition comes from our colleagues and peers who understand the nuances of pre-hospital care and the challenges that the air ambulance industry faces, particularly as charitable organisations. We are extremely proud of all our nominees and winners, as well as the team as a whole who provide exceptional care in exceptional circumstances to our patients every hour of every day”
The awards, which are independently judged, went to pilots, paramedics, doctors, fundraisers and volunteers who collected their trophies from Louise Minchin and co-host, Red Dwarf’s Robert Llewellyn, at the ceremony held in central London.
Chosen by a panel of professionals from the British air ambulance community, the following London’s Air Ambulance winners were announced:
PR & Communications Team — ‘Campaign of the Year’ Award
At the beginning of the year the charity celebrated 25 years of saving lives in the UK’s capital. We used the milestone to thank the London community for its support, which has kept the charity going for so long. It was also an opportunity to grow awareness of the brand, providing a solid platform for a fundraising drive throughout the year.
Press coverage valuing over £1.3 million was obtained across a significant proportion of media - including a feature with BBC London TV, radio and web, a cover on leading London financial city newspaper City AM and a double page spread in national newspaper Metro, which also helped raise awareness of the wider air ambulance community.
Birthday messages were received from politicians including Prime Minister David Cameron and Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
JJ Butcher — ‘Outstanding Young Person’ Award
5-year-old JJ Butcher was inspired to raise thousands of pounds after his uncle James Butcher was in a motorcycle collision with a lorry while travelling along the A413 at Tatling End in December 2013. Being a keen swimmer, JJ took on a swimming challenge and on 8th June completed the 200 metre swim. He raised £2,257 — almost enough to send a London’s Air Ambulance helicopter to another person.
REBOA — Special Incident Award (runner-up)
Earlier this year London’s Air Ambulance performed the world’s first roadside balloon surgery to control internal bleeding. Use of pre-hospital Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA), a technique used first in the UK at The Royal London Hospital, to control haemorrhage in trauma patients was a ground breaking move by the charity.
On average the charity is called five times a day to deliver its life-saving medical interventions to people seriously injured in the Capital. Many of these patients are suffering from catastrophic bleeding. Tragically some die at the scene as a result of their severe blood loss and never make it to hospital. London’s Air Ambulance can now perform REBOA on patients suffering severe pelvic haemorrhage, an injury most commonly associated with cycling incidents and falls from height.
