Marking Air Ambulance Week

The team will be in Lincoln’s Cornhill and St Benedict’s Square this Wednesday, September 7, to raise awareness of the service.

Air Ambulance Week took off today, September 5, and runs until September 11, with the aim of highlighting the vital work of the doctors, paramedics, and pilots on board the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance.

A spokesman for LNAA said: “No one wakes up thinking they will need the help of the LNAA but with crews on call 365 days of the year, its highly skilled doctors, paramedics and pilots are there to help people involved in life-threatening incidents every single day.

"The enhanced level of pre-hospital critical care delivered to patients at the scene gives people with the most severe injuries and medical conditions the very best chance of survival when minutes matter.”

LNAA receives no regular direct funding from the Government; it needs to raise £8 million this year to keep its helicopter and Critical Care cars operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It is thanks to the generosity and goodwill of supporters throughout the counties of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire that it can provide such a critical care service.

For more details on how to support this vital work, visit www.ambucopter.org.uk

Lincolnshire born, James Watson, knows only too well the need for an Air Ambulance service.

In May 2021, his father collapsed while playing golf and the iconic yellow helicopter, with its dedicated doctor-paramedic crew, was called out.

Sadly, despite the team’s best efforts, John could not be saved, but his family has taken comfort in the knowledge that John received the best treatment possible from the LNAA crew.

James said: “Our family visited the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance HQ through linking in with the Patient & Family Liaison Officer.

"We were able to talk to the crew, see the helicopter and all of the equipment they carry on board. Being able to visit and hear more about the circumstances of my father’s death has given our family the reassurance that he was in the best hands and that everything that could have been done, was done.”

James continued: “The work they do is vital in giving patients the best possible chance of survival.”

James has since held a memorial golf day in memory of his father.

With the support of his family and Sleaford Golf Club, the inaugural John Watson Memorial Cup match took place in May raising £3,200 for LNAA.

The nursery John’s grandchildren attend, Little Gems Day Nursery in Sleaford, also held a charity sports day to support the family’s fundraising and raised £80.