MEMBERS of St Austell Probus Club have been given a talk on the Cornwall Air Ambulance.

A spokesperson for the club said: “After a first-class lunch at the Britannia Inn, the members were given a very informative and interesting talk by Peter Bradbury of Cornwall Air Ambulance.

“Cornwall’s was the first air ambulance in the country, being established in 1987. The original aim was to quickly transport casualties from where they were to hospital but, nowadays, the ‘hospital’ travels to the patient. State-of-the-art equipment is used by the helicopter teams including night vision glasses, a CPR machine to take the place of physically-demanding CPR, and hi-tech radio communications systems.

“The personnel employed include 12 critical care paramedics – advanced paramedics who deal with much more serious cases than regular paramedics.

“There are six pilots plus seven doctors who sometimes fly but not on every call. Also, a very necessary body of groundcrew and charity workers make up the numbers.

“In excess of 1,000 missions are flown each year and the air ambulance has become vital to Cornwall, reaching casualties who may be in inaccessible locations which make land-based rescues difficult and time consuming.

“The helicopter can do back-to-back operations because of its large fuel capacity and its speed can take it, for example, from Penzance to Plymouth in 20 minutes.

“The current helicopter cost £5-million in 2020 and a second aircraft, Heli2, is due to be added now.

“Volunteers for groundcrew and fundraising are always needed and welcomed since no government funding is provided.

“Probus club chairman Gary Truscott thanked Peter for his talk and presented him with a donation for the Cornwall Air Ambulance.

“If you are tempted to join the club, why not have a chat with secretary John Dearing on 01726 844368 or Hugh Walker on 01726 844950 or visit our website?”