UK Parliament home

This petition was submitted during the 2017 to 2019 Parliament

View other petitions from this Parliament

Closed The Air Ambulances to be government funded

Closed on

The air ambulances that operate around the UK cost around £12,000 per day to run and maintain, and are mainly funded through charity organisations. This petition is to ask the Government to fully fund the air ambulances through the emergency services.

134,143 signatures

Show on a map

100,000

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

  • Parliament will debate this petition on 26 April 2021

    You’ll be able to watch online on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.

  • Petition closed

  • Related activity

    Debate postponed to Monday 25 November

    The Petitions Committee has decided to postpone the debate on air ambulance funding to Monday 25 November. This is due to the need for MPs to be present in and around the Chamber to vote during the election of a new Speaker of the House of Commons on 4 November.

  • Government responded to this petition

    NHS ambulance services provide clinical staff and equipment to air ambulance charities. A charitable model gives charities independence to deliver specialised, specific services to each locality.

    Read the response in full

    Air ambulance services are not NHS funded and are provided by 18 charitable organisations across England, with the majority of their resources supported by their own fundraising activities.

    We recognise that Air Ambulances provide a valuable service, including to remote locations through both delivery of a specialist team to an incident, and patient transportation back to treatment centres. Air Ambulance crews treat people in critical conditions who rely on urgent treatment before they can reach a hospital. They support the wider NHS emergency response on the ground, ensuring patients get specialised care in both urban settings and hard-to-reach rural areas.

    Many Ambulance Trusts across England currently work in partnership with Air Ambulance providers from the commercial and charity sectors to deliver services. NHS England works closely with Air Ambulance charities at a local level as part of their considerations of the urgent and emergency care mix in different areas of the country. The NHS Long Term Plan will improve emergency care for all patients, including those treated by Air Ambulances charities.

    Since April 2002, the NHS has been instructed to provide and fund the cost of some staff on a number of Air Ambulances. However, as decisions on the provision of services for the safe delivery of care are best made at a local level, the level of funding support varies from charity to charity; some charities fully fund their own medical staff on their ambulance, whilst others receive more NHS funding support. Both the type of service provided, and the level of funding support will be driven by local issues such as geography and demography. There are high capital and revenue costs associated with helicopter emergency medical services, including purchasing and maintaining helicopter provision.

    However, we have made provisions for substantial funding support in this and previous budgets to help ensure that Air Ambulance charities are equipped to provide lifesaving care to patients in need. This year, Air Ambulance charities across England have been invited to bid for a share of £10 million capital funding to invest in new equipment and upgrade facilities to support them in delivering services to patients across England.

    The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Air Ambulances (APPGAA) is a group of MPs and peers dedicated to highlighting issues and opportunities around Air Ambulance services with policy makers. We will continue to work closely with the sector to ensure patients continue to benefit from these services. Essential public donations, combined with periodic funding contributions from the Government, will ensure these charities can have world-class facilities to match their reputation for world-class care, through a patient-centred approach which works for the population they serve.

    Department of Health and Social Care.

  • This petition will be considered for debate in Parliament

    This petition got more than 100,000 signatures meaning the Petitions Committee will consider it for debate in Parliament.

  • Government will respond to this petition

    This petition got more than 10,000 signatures meaning that government will respond to it.

  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 6 November 2019.