AN appeal to fund a second helicopter for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) charity was launched on Monday (September 1).

The ‘2ndHeli Appeal’ aims to raise the final £1 million needed for DSAA to purchase and fit out a second air ambulance helicopter.

DSAA chief executive Charles Hackett said: “This ambitious step forward will build on 25 years of remarkable service provided by the charity.

“If the appeal reaches its goal, it will enable the air ambulance crew to reach more patients, strengthen operational resilience, and ultimately save even more lives.”

DSAA is the busiest air ambulance in the Westcuntry, flying nearly 3,000 missions a year.

Its current AW169 helicopter, fondly named ‘Peggy’, is flown more intensively than almost any other air ambulance of its kind in the UK.

But with increasing demand and unavoidable downtime for maintenance, the charity has concluded a single helicopter is no longer enough.

The charity said a second helicopter will:

• Strengthen resilience and operational availability

• Maintain air operations when one aircraft is offline

• Be fitted with a state-of-the-art medical interior, enabling clinicians to deliver the highest level of care, day and night

• Provide an aircraft fleet, so that an extension of operating hours can be considered in future

• Enable hundreds of additional life-saving missions every year

The charity has already secured the majority of the funds it needs through prudent financial planning and supporter generosity.

It now needs to make a final push to raise the remaining £1 million to bring home a second AW169 helicopter.

Mr Hackett said: “We are proud of how far we have come over the years, but we have reached the limit of what is possible with just one aircraft.

“With daily maintenance requirements, we cannot get more than 19 hours a day of flying, and the demands on ‘Peggy’ mean that faults and issues come around all too soon.

“People support our charity, because they believe in our ability to achieve extraordinary outcomes that would not otherwise happen.

“This care, this service, this gift to the people of Dorset and Somerset is lifesaving and very special, as every mission is funded by you.

“Without that wonderful support, our service would not exist.

“We now have an incredible opportunity to transform emergency care even further across the region, and hope the public, businesses, and local communities will support us on our quest.

“With your continued support and others alike, we will bring a second helicopter into service next summer.

“Together, and only together, we can make this happen.”

DSAA does not receive any direct funding from the Government and relies on donations and fund-raising.

Its helicopter currently can fly 19 hours a day from 7 am to 2 am, 365 days a year, and its operational costs are more than £10 million a year, with each mission costing about £3,500.

Anybody who wants to support the ‘2ndHeli Appeal’ can do so via the DSAA website or by calling 01823 669604.