The Arsenal Foundation has helped to fund London’s Air Ambulance Charity, which delivers rapid-response care to critically injured people in London. Rhiannon is the Learning & Outreach Manager, and she has been working with Arsenal in the Community, too.
“I joined London’s Air Ambulance Charity to raise awareness of the charity in schools. By providing opportunities for students to learn about our work through Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) activities, our aim is to inspire the doctors, paramedics and pilots of the future. We show real-world applications of STEM and career pathways into the emergency services through visits to schools, colleges and community events.
“Funding from The Arsenal Foundation has supported us to attend community events with our Helivan. The van hosts a replica of the interior of a London’s Air Ambulance helicopter and provides a unique way to educate communities about the life-saving service we provide.
“We also linked up with Arsenal in the Community’s youth programme and Kicks initiative to reach more young people in North London. This is especially important at a time when there is a national shortage of paramedics, emergency medicine practitioners and engineers. By highlighting what’s possible, we hope that some participants will commit themselves to pursuing these goals.
“I enjoy my job immensely. The interest and engagement from young people in the work of the charity is really rewarding and it’s great to be able to answer their questions. Many of the young people I speak to have seen our helicopter or rapid-response car in their community and are inspired to find out more about who we are, what we do and how we end up treating patients at the roadside.
“Our team treats an average of five patients every day. The most common incidents we attend include road traffic collisions, stabbings and shootings, falls from height and incidents on the rail network. Islington is the borough with the second-highest number of patients.
“Many people don’t realise that London’s Air Ambulance is a charity and that we rely on the support of Londoners. We work closely with the NHS and receive some funding from our NHS partners, but we are not an NHS organisation. Most of our running costs are covered by public donations and fundraising, and support from The Arsenal Foundation and Arsenal in the Community helps us to spread the word in our community.”
Find out more at www.londonsairambulance.org.uk
Arsenal in the Community have helped youngsters engage with the work of London’s Air Ambulance
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
