![]() "The first donation was for £200 and we have been overwhelmed by public support ever since," says Breige. Now the serious mission of fundraising could begin, aligning Northern Ireland, at last, with other parts in the UK which already had a dedicated flying doctor service. "Now we had the start-up funding, all we needed were the critical things: a helicopter and a hangar."īabcock Mission Critical Services, a leading supplier of HEMS aircraft, was awarded the contract and the site outside Moira selected as a base. "After that, we applied to the then chancellor, George Osborne, for seed funding – sourced from fines levied on banks for market-rigging – and this was successful on our second attempt," Breige explains. In fact, the air ambulance story goes back almost 12 years to 2006 when the business plan for the development of a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for Northern Ireland was first presented to the Department of Health.Īnd it has been quite a circuitous journey ever since, from when Fermanagh District Council first commissioned the plan – a second emergency helicopter is still based in the county – and trustees were appointed to Air Ambulance Service Northern Ireland (AANI), to the surge of support from 84,500 people who signed a petition following the death of popular motorcycling doctor and air ambulance campaigner Dr John Hinds from Co Armagh.Īir ambulance paramedic Emma Boylan from Armagh and pilot Richard Steele from Ballinderry at the AANI base at the former Maze prison site Picture: Mal McCann ![]() "At that point, I didn’t know where or what it was tasked to but I remember just filling up with emotion that this day had finally arrived." "I was on holiday and standing in a shop in Culdaff, Co Donegal, when I got news that the helicopter had been tasked," she recalls. THEY have only been in the air for six months, but Northern Ireland's proud new Air Ambulance team had their helmets metaphorically fastened long before the action turned real.įor project co-ordinator Breige Mulholland, the launch of the sleek red helicopter into the skies above its operating base at the former Maze prison site last July was a day which caused her, literally, to stand still and take a long, deep breath.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |