At their last meeting, Tenby U3A were very pleased to welcome Tony Key OBE, of the Wales Air Ambulance, who gave a most interesting and informative talk about the vital air ambulance service.

The air ambulance is able to get to areas of emergency very speedily. Tony said that it took no more than 20 minutes for a helicopter to get to anywhere in Wales, absolutely crucial in cases where speed is of the essence and where accessibility may be limited - such as in the case of a motorway emergency. For example, there were six air ambulances involved in the recent M62 mini-bus crash, while recently a child with breathing difficulties was air-lifted from the Gower to hospital in four minutes. Tony spoke of the 'golden hour', within which there was a good chance of someone surviving injuries if treated within that period.

Air ambulances are purpose-built and fully equipped for any type of medical emergency. They are flown by superbly trained pilots, able to land in the most cramped spots or difficult and isolated terrains, who are accompanied by three highly-trained paramedics. Because night-flying is a problem for the helicopters, all rugby clubs in Wales with floodlighting were asked if they would be willing to be used as landing pads for helicopters at night, and all have agreed to do so.

Tony emphasised that the air ambulance service is a charity which relies on three main sources for its funding: money from legacies (which brings in £2.2 million pa); the air ambulance in-house lottery (which provides one-third of its income) and from the few, but important, retail shops. It costs £3,000,000 a year or £18,000 a day to keep the three helicopters in the ambulance service functioning.

Tony was asked what people could do to help. He suggested joining the in-house lottery, which can be found at http://www.walesambulance.com">www.walesambulance.com, making donations or organising fundraising events. There are also vacancies for volunteer helpers in the retail shop in Upper Frog Street, where unwanted, but saleable items can also be donated.