Flying High with Buckinghamshire Freemasons

A grant of £4,000 to the Thames Valley Air Ambulance from Buckinghamshire Freemasons has brought the total Masonic support given to air ambulances across the country to £2.3 million since 2007.

The grant, which comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation, is funded by Freemasons and their families from across England and Wales.

During 2018, Freemasons from around the country will be presenting 20 regional centres for air ambulances with grants totalling £192,000.

Thames Valley Air Ambulance provides emergency medical care 365 days a year, up to 19 hours per day, for around two million people who live, work and travel in Buckinghamshire Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Their paramedics, doctors and pilots are highly trained and ready for any eventuality, delivering advanced care by road as well as by air, night and day, all year round.

Since opening in 1999, Thames Valley Air Ambulance has evolved from being a fast method of transporting patients to hospitals, to the current model of care which brings hospital level treatment to the scene of an incident.

Equipped with the iconic red helicopter, four critical care response vehicles, specialist doctors, paramedics and pilots, cutting edge technology and advanced medication, they are at the frontline of saving lives.

The donation from the Masonic Charitable Foundation will go towards funding the service, enabling their helicopter and critical care response vehicles to reach more people across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

The Air Ambulance provide advanced training for their paramedics and doctors, using specialist equipment such as a state-of-the-art simulation suite and real- life manikins.

The simulation suite enables the crews to practice treating patients in a variety of different emergency scenarios, replicating the conditions they would find in real life including noise, weather and smells.

Bucks Deputy Provincial Grand Master Hugh Douglas-Smith, Bucks Assistant Grand Master Phil Blacklaw, Bucks MCF Rep Andrew Hough and Bucks Provincial Charity Steward Mike Clanfield recently attended the Air Ambulance office based in Stokenchurch.

Adam Panter, Director of Operations, gave a fantastic and insightful demonstration of the simulation suite, explaining how the service works and who they help.

Adam has worked for Thames Valley Air Ambulance since May 2017.

Matt Jarman, one of the Senior Critical Care Paramedics, was also on hand to demonstrate some of the specialist equipment that the crews use when they are dispatched to an incident.

Hugh Douglas-Smith of Bucks Freemasons said “Buckinghamshire Freemasons are proud to support the Air Ambulance. If you are community minded and would like to join us apply at the Buckspgl website.”