I visited the new Midlands Air Ambulance airbase and charity headquarters in Shifnal.
The organisation was based in Stourbridge until its recent move to its new HQ.
I met chief executive Hanna Sebright and senior staff to be shown around the new base ahead of Air Ambulance Week that is taking place until 10th September.
It has been funded mainly by grant funding, including one from the Department of Health and Social Care of about £1.2 million.
The charity - the biggest air ambulance in the country - has three helicopters and a fleet of cars too.
Its clinical team of 30 doctors provide critical medical care on the scene of an incident before transporting people to hospital. Doctors can be on the scene for over two hours providing critical medical care.
Many split their time between working at the charity and the NHS.
Many thanks to Hanna and her team for taking the time to show me around the new base.
It’s quite clear it has been carefully thought through with a space for families to come to hear about what happened to their loved ones built there.
There is also a simulation room which provides life-like simulations for training purposes as well as all the equipment and facilities to keep those life-saving helicopters in the air above the West Midlands.
Midlands Air Ambulance does amazing work. It is a reassuring and life-saving presence in the skies and on the ground and I thank it for its excellent work.
I hope Air Ambulance Week this week will shine a further light on what it does for the public.
