bringing the hospital to the patient...hospital to the patient. our aim is to save lives, reduce or...

ANNUAL REVIEW 2018/2019

Bringing the hospital to the patient

Contents

Who we are 04

Welcome from our Chair of Trustees 05

Thank you from our CEO 06

Our missions 08

Why we do what we do:

– Patient stories 10

How we do what we do:

– Operations 14

– Clinical 16

– Fundraising and Marketing 20

– Finance 28

Highlights of the year 32

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Acronyms used in this document:EHAAT Essex & Herts Air AmbulanceAAA Association of Air AmbulancesAED Automated External Defibrillator AW169 AgustaWestland AW169CCD Clinical Coordination Desk EEAST East of England Ambulance Service NHS TrustHEMS Helicopter Emergency Medical ServiceMD902 MD902 Explorer PLM Patient Liaison ManagerRRVs Rapid Response VehiclesSAS Specialist Aviation Services

Who we areEssex & Herts Air Ambulance

Your local life-saving Charity.

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Essex & Herts Air Ambulance is a charity that brings the hospital to the patient. Our aim is to save lives, reduce or prevent disability, or suffering from critical illness and injury, by delivering a life-saving pre-hospital emergency medical service to the people of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas.

Unlike NHS emergency services, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance is a charity. It costs £9 million every year to cover all charitable costs and aircraft operations. Without access to National Lottery funding and with only limited support from Government, we rely on the generosity of our supporters to remain operational and saving lives.

I am pleased to report that 2018/2019 was another successful year for the Charity. We continued to receive outstanding support from our communities across both Essex and Hertfordshire enabling significant funds to be invested in securing the Charity’s long term future.

In particular, the Charity has submitted planning for the building of a new airbase at North Weald, which was made after careful consideration had been given to whether it was more financially advantageous to lease the airbase or build our own.

The new facility will contain dedicated areas for training, mentoring, patient liaison and cross training with other emergency services, which will benefit both EHAAT and the local pre-hospital care community. The new facility will also provide a visitor centre which will allow us to welcome and engage with the local community. There will also be space for our Hertfordshire Fundraising Team to work more closely with their clinical colleagues.

In addition to the new airbase at North Weald, the Charity is considering ways to improve and future-proof facilities at its Earls Colne Airbase to ensure the security of the operation.

An important enhancement to our service was introduced in March 2019, when we began carrying blood products on board our helicopters and RRVs. This major clinical development will provide a significant step in the clinical care that can be provided to our patients.

The growth of our Flight for Life Lottery continued apace this year, and now accounts for over half of our income. As previously reported, its success has resulted in us approaching a £10 million turnover cap imposed on society lotteries through legislation designed to protect the National Lottery. After consulting on society lottery reform, the Government has now

announced that the maximum turnover cap will rise from £10 million to £50 million during 2020. The Charity has decided to proceed with the planned additional licence application to allow us to grow further without breaching the current limit as there is no date for the legislation to be passed.

During the year we opened one more charity shop, this time in Frinton-on-Sea. This brought the total number of our shops across both counties to seven in addition to our warehouse facility. We continue to search the region for further suitable shop locations.

The trustees together with the executive team have spent time reviewing the Charity Governance Code and I am pleased to report that this work highlighted that the Charity already applies much of the best practice set out in the code. Areas requiring further work have been identified and the board will work towards strengthening our governance in these areas.

The Charity can only provide its service because of the continued hard work and commitment of many. These include not only our clinical teams and air crew, but also our charity staff, our dedicated team of volunteers and our loyal supporters across both counties. On behalf of my fellow trustees, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support.

Finally, I would like to thank our retiring trustee, Clare Dobie, for all her hard work and dedication over the many years she has been involved with the Charity, she will be much missed. I am, however, pleased to welcome two new trustees, Andy Tunningley, who is a senior executive at BlackRock, one of the largest investment management firms in the world and Claire Smith, a lawyer who has direct experience of the Charity, her baby daughter having been a patient in 2014. Both will be valuable additions to the board.

Welcome from our Chair of Trustees

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Jonathan Trower Chair of Trustees

The Charity has submitted planning for the building of a new airbase at North Weald.

Annual Review 2018/2019

We can’t fly without you, thank you from our CEO

Jane Gurney CEO

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance

Many thanks to all corporate partners, sponsors, trusts and foundations that have supported us during the year, including:

Allianz Insurance

Anglia Ruskin University

BerryWorld

Bikesafe

Bishop’s Stortford Veterinary Hospital

Blakemore Foundation

Beresfords Group

Blue Bear Animal Rehabilitation

Bridgefoot Gospel Hall Trust

Brock Webb Trust

CMS Herts

Colchester Kawasaki

Curtis Family Charitable Trust

David Watson Transport

East Tilbury Relief in Need Charity

Epson UK

Essex Media

Fin & Fur Pet Aquatic Centre

Ford Motor Company

GCS Alarms

GlobalGiving

Hampden & Co.

Harrods Aviation

Hythe Hill Motorcycles

IOD East of England

Jamesons Chartered Accountants

Just Wheel Repair

Leonardo Helicopters

Lloyd Cooper Motorcycles

Magnum and Hi-Tec

Masonic Charitable Foundation

MDS Civil Engineering

Moores Motorcycles

MRH Retail

Natta Building Company

Norman Evershed Trust

North Weald Aviation

Peter Janes Memorial Trust

Pole Position Motorcycles

Redrow Homes

Revere Charitable Trust

Rosmarinus Charitable Trust

Rossi Ice Creams

RSM UK Tax and Accounting

Safer Essex Road Partnership

Sorrymate.com

Specialist Aviation Services

Swinton Group

The Clayson Williams Charitable Trust

The Cowdray Trust

The John Walter Wynne Charitable Discretionary Trust

The Viccarage Trust

TK Cope Motorcycles

Waterhouse Cars

Wilkin & Sons

Woodland Group

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us this year and continues to do so.

06 We have had another amazing year at EHAAT with a huge amount of activity within our charity and clinical teams.

In March 2019 we began to carry blood supplies on board our helicopters and RRVs.This major clinical development will provide a significant improvement in the care that can be provided to our patients.

Our ‘Skills for Life’ programme which teaches CPR within schools, was launched and we were able to deliver to the next generation useful life-saving skills. In addition, we held a Defibrillator Awareness Day in Hitchin in conjunction with Hitchin AED Scheme and Hitchin Community First Responders to teach the public how to use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). Due to some generous donations and grants, we now have AEDs located outside, or close to, six of our charity shops across Essex and Hertfordshire.

Work has commenced to plan improvements to our two airbases at North

Weald and Earls Colne, with a complete new build planned for North Weald and an expansion and refurbishment at Earls Colne. We have also applied for £1.5 million for our North Weald development from the £10 million released for air ambulance charities in England by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his October 2018 Budget. If we are successful, this will mean that some of the funds initially put aside for our new premises at North Weald can now be used to help develop and improve the life-saving service we provide for patients.

Finally, I was thrilled to win ‘Public/Third Sector Director of the Year’ in the Institute of Directors’ East of England Awards, a wonderful accolade which demonstrates how passionate and proud I am of the work our team undertake to continue to provide our life-saving service to you.

Thank you so much for all your continued support to enable us to remain operational and saving lives.

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600Over

fundraisers across the year

100,000

360

Across all areas of giving over

Over

Supporter legacies funded

people and businesses support EHAAT

volunteers

1 in 10missions

103,500 Over

Flight for Life Lottery players 25

0841 16


Thank you all!Essex & Herts Air Ambulance

Our missions

2,132

missions delivered by air ambulance

missions delivered by rapid response vehicle

missions this year including:

478road traffic collisions

824medical emergencies

340accidental injuries including falls

490other trauma incidents including assaults, self-harm, exposure and sport/leisure/industrial incidents

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1,578 554

Figures from 1st April 2018 to 31st March 2019

missions in Essex

406 missions in Hertfordshire


ESSEXHERTS

384 in the surrounding areas

1,440patients treated

The total number of missions includes 805 stand downs. These are incidents when the crew return to base because it becomes apparent that their assistance is not required on-scene. This is one of the consequences of ensuring we respond to calls as quickly as possible in order to make sure that we get to patients who do need our help urgently.

091,342

Most frequently attended hospitals The Royal London Hospital 165

Basildon Hospital 102

Broomfield Hospital 95

Addenbrooke’s Hospital 74

Colchester General 61

Until you find yourself in a position where you need it, you don’t fully appreciate it.

Freya Goulding was out with her four young children in Highwoods Country Park, Colchester, when Tom, aged 4, was struck by an out of control cyclist.

She recalls: “We were walking around the lake when a teenager on a bike came down the hill at speed and hit Tom. Even from a distance I could see it was serious. Tom’s leg looked like it was snapped in half, and there was a lot of blood. He’d suffered a terrible compound fracture to his tibia and fibula. It was a terrible injury.

“A land ambulance crew came quickly, but given his age they couldn’t give him gas and air, and called the air ambulance.

“The EHAAT critical care team were able to administer ketamine and fentanyl before escorting him to the hospital where the major trauma team was waiting.

“I dread to think how much worse it could have been, if they’d had to move him without those drugs. The care the team took was amazing.”

Tom had an operation the same day when a metal plate and six screws were put in his leg. Because of his age, these were taken out a few months later.

“Tom absolutely loved his visit to the airbase, he can’t stop telling people about it! It was very emotional when we saw the helicopter and met the team. They are Tom’s heroes now.”

Thankfully, Tom has made a good recovery, says Freya.

“He’s running around again now and has taken part in a couple of Park Runs with his dad and older brother. He managed 2km in 11 minutes, but he’s frightened of bikes now.”

Although she was aware of EHAAT, Freya admits she didn’t realise how much has to be raised to keep the service operational:“I knew the air ambulance was a charity, but I didn’t know how much it costs. Now I talk to everyone about it! Until you find yourself in a position where you need it, you don’t fully appreciate it. “I cannot thank the crew enough for what they did. They helped stabilise Tom, they gave him the strong drugs he needed to be able to move him. I am forever thankful for the help the air ambulance gave us that day.”

Why we do what we do: Patient stories


Left: Tom visits the airbase. Right: The Goulding Family with Critical Care Paramedic Phil Almond

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It’s an utterly amazing service, and I want to say a huge thank you forsaving my husband’s life.

On 2nd June, Andrew Bord from Bushey was taking a shower when he slipped and fell.

“Nobody is sure whether he fell and had a seizure because he banged his head, or whether he had the seizure first”, explains his wife Emma. “Whatever happened, I heard a thud and rushed up to find him shaking, with a huge amount of blood pouring from his head.

“I went downstairs, screamed out the door to my neighbours for help and rang 999. My neighbour took our two young children aged 1 and 3, who thankfully didn’t see anything, away to look after them. I rushed back upstairs and followed the instructions from the 999 team to try and help my husband. After the seizure he started becoming quite aggressive, shouting and pushing whilst having no idea who I was, which is apparently quite a normal reaction to a head injury. I was holding a towel over the bleeding, but it was difficult to hold him down at this point.

“A land ambulance arrived, followed quickly by EHAAT, which was able to land in the field behind our house. I was shocked to see it arrive as whilst I knew my husband was in an awful state the knowledge of the helicopter made it feel even more serious. However Katja, the pre-hospital care doctor, was amazingly calm, and made an awful situation seem less horrific.

“She quickly sedated him which was extremely frightening for me - the word ‘coma’ makes you think the worst. However this was to make it easier for them to staple his wound and also apparently to let his brain relax from the trauma. In retrospect she clearly did a great job as this had allowed him to calm down and the scar is minimal now.”

While Andrew was airlifted to The Royal London Hospital, Emma was taken by police car.

“I was surprised that he was being taken so far, however it was a major trauma hospital and the air ambulance got there in eight minutes which is absolutely amazing and definitely helped save him.

“When I arrived I feared the worst, or if not, that he may have a severe brain injury and not be able to remember my name. Unbelievably he has made an amazing recovery. He was back home within a few days and is doing really well. After a few weeks he was nearly back to his old self.It’s an utterly amazing service, and I want to say a huge thank you for saving my husband’s life. I can’t thank you enough for everything. The team on the helicopter, the speed of their work and the decisions they made were simply amazing.

I’m a keen runner and I am planning on doing a marathon next year. I’ll be doing it to raise money for EHAAT, no question.”

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Left: Andrew and Emma after the accident. Right: The Bord family are all smiles


We are:Passionate, Professional,Innovative,Trustworthy,Dedicated.

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Cliff Gale Operations Director

During this, the first full year of operating our own AW169, the critical care teams were able to use the additional space and access to provide even better care to our patients.

The advanced aircraft systems and performance of the AW169 permit us to fly further, faster with increased safety margin in demanding flying conditions. Our other aircraft is a MD902 Explorer leased from Specialist Aviation Service (SAS). Both the MD902 and the AW169, which is owned by the Charity, are maintained by SAS, who also provide our pilots. SAS has been providing helicopters, pilots and aircraft maintenance for the emergency services for over 30 years and is recognised as one of the leaders in the industry. SAS and representatives of the Charity meet formally twice a year to review the contract arrangements and ensure compliance. We have been trading with SAS since 2008.

We operate out of our airbases at Earls Colne and North Weald airfields, where

we ensure a safe working environment that complies with stringent Civil Aviation Authority, Care Quality Commission and Health and Safety requirements. This operating structure across the two counties helps us to be more effective and has many cost-saving benefits for the Charity too. Our service is operational seven days a week. Each base works a nine hour shift during weekdays and ten hours at weekends. Both the bases and the flying operation are regularly inspected by the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure we operate safely and comply with all the relevant regulations.

Located at each airbase are two RRVs: specially equipped cars to support our HEMS operation. These are used when the helicopter is unavailable due to weather, daylight limitations or maintenance, and will be an essential part of our work as we move towards being operational 24/7. By the end of 2019 our fleet of RRVs will consist entirely of Volvo XC90s, offering stability, cost savings and the safety of a modern emergency service fleet.

24/7 operation Our two bases work together to provide optimum cover for both counties and surrounding areas from 7am to 9pm throughout the year. In addition, a RRV is operational on a Friday and Saturday evening from 6pm to 2am. In March we extended the RRV cover on Fridays and Saturdays to 7am. This meant the Charity’s critical care teams were available continuously from 7am on Friday through to 9pm on Sunday.

We plan to be operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year from October 2019 using a combination of helicopters and RRVs.

Our emergency service partners Our partnership working with the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) continues to strive for effective tasking (activation) of the critical care teams through the Clinical Coordination Desk (CCD). The CCD is responsible for the tasking of all specialist assets, including helicopters, across the East of England region. The effectiveness of the tasking continues to be monitored at monthly operations meetings involving EHAAT, EEAST, and our neighbouring air ambulances, East Anglian Air Ambulance and Magpas Air Ambulance. The strategic group involving representatives from senior management of all four organisations meet on a quarterly basis.

How we do what we do: Operations

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Collaborative working with EEAST

Plans for 24-7 operations are underway

6 times a day

23,206 missions

£2,200

1pm and 2pm

Our teams are dispatched on average

As of April 2019

have been attended by Essex & Herts Air Ambulance

The average cost per mission is

During the year, the busiest time of day for missions was between

Prepare for the start of 24/7 operations, anticipated to begin in October 2019.

Working on plans for our new North Weald Airbase.

Implement plans to improve our airbase and team areas at the Earls Colne Airbase.

To go live with a RRV fleet of Volvo XC90s.

What the operations team are working towards in the next financial year:

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Blood on boardIn March we started carrying blood supplies on board our helicopters and RRVs. This major development provides a significant improvement in the care given to our patients. Packed red blood cells and dried (lypholized) plasma are now fully available to those patients needing a pre-hospital transfusion. This development is a result of partnership working with The Princess Alexandra Hospital (Harlow) NHS Blood

The focus for the clinical team over the last year has been to deliver a safe, well-led, and effective service for our patients. This has been achieved with a multi-team approach to all aspects of the clinical operation.

A Delphi Study was carried out by the EHAAT Research Fellow to set the future direction for research. Other projects included an in-depth review of the clinical operation, student resilience and use of pre-hospital blood.

Safeguarding has been a focus with links strengthened with neighbouring NHS ambulance trusts. This has included shared case studies and best practice at Clinical Governance Days. EHAAT continues to be strong in this field with the Patient Liaison Managers (PLMs) having a proactive overview of all cases and highlighting areas that may need review.

Clinical Governance continues to be strong. A team of three consultant level pre-hospital care doctors with a variety of core specialities provides a broad range of experience. This enables the clinical team to openly and honestly discuss their work, looking for best practice and to identify where improvements can be made. These findings are shared within the team or wider

where pertinent. On-call senior clinical consultants continue to give expert help and advice to our teams on scene. Governance is shared with NHS and other Emergency Services through our monthly Clinical Governance Days.

Trauma and cardiac network relationships continue to grow and strengthen as do those with NHS Ambulance Service Trusts that we work alongside. The PLMs are pivotal in developing these relationships as they regularly visit the speciality centres to offer help and advice to patients we have treated. Our PLMs also reach out to bereaved families and friends to help provide answers and support the grieving process. This can include a visit to meet the critical care team who attended to them. The EHAAT national and international student elective programme has gone from strength to strength, with applications from high calibre candidates from many specialties who spend up to four weeks with the critical care teams. The range of skills learnt from clinical through to human factors allows development with world class mentorship. 2019 will be the first time an EHAAT elective student comes back to the Charity to join as a full time pre-hospital care doctor nine years after first spending time with us.

How we do what we do: Clinical


Dr Ronan FentonMedical Director

Stuart ElmsClinical Director

Representatives from EHAAT, The Princess Alexandra Hospital and Essex Voluntary Blood Service launch blood on board.

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and Transport Team, Essex Voluntary Blood Service (Blood Runners), Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex, London’s Air Ambulance and MEQU (blood warmers). As the first UK user of MEQU, a close working partnership was required to get the training and readiness done together. EHAAT are indebted to all involved for their support and help.

Being able to give a pre-hospital transfusion at the scene of an incident could be a life-saving intervention for patients suffering significant bleeding and blood loss. Patients who have suffered blood loss were previously given a saline solution, which doesn’t carry oxygen or help with clotting of injuries.

We will carry packed red blood cells of blood group O Negative, meaning they can be used on any patient. When required, these are given with plasma, the other major component of human blood. Together these form an effective replacement for patients who have lost blood.

The blood is delivered daily and stored in special cool boxes that keep the blood at a cool temperature for at least 24 hours. If unused after 24 hours the blood is returned to the blood donation system for use elsewhere, preventing wastage of this precious commodity.

Recruiting for 24/7

EHAAT has moved to a 24 hour operation on Fridays and Saturdays with the use of RRVs in the hours of darkness. Already there have been incidents where interventions offered by the critical care teams outside of normal operating hours have been vital to the patient. This has included pre-hospital emergency anaesthetics.

To support our plans for being operational 24/7 from October 2019, we have invested in the team. This has included the recruitment of the additional pre-hospital care doctors and critical care paramedics needed for the additional hours of operation. A clinical lead consultant and a larger consultant doctor team help provide extra levels of governance and training. Our recruitment process has been supported by The Mid Essex Hospital Trust and the major trauma centres.

The EHAAT national and international student elective programme has gone from strength to strength.

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HEMS DOCTOR: A CHALLENGING ROLE, A PASSIONATE TEAM. MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE!

Our Aeromedical Conferences have been going from strength-to-strength over the years, especially after winning the Innovation of the Year Award at last year’s Association of Air Ambulance’s Awards of Excellence.

This year we wanted to ensure that we continue to push the boundaries for our free to attend conference and we hit record numbers of over 350 clinicians, professionals, students and partner agencies travelling from across the UK to attend.The theme for the event was ‘Paediatrics - Our Care, Their Future’. Speakers focused on the causes, prevalence and changing face of paediatric cases and care in pre-hospital medicine.

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The speakers of the 2018 conference conference, with EHAAT’s CEO, Jane Gurney and Medical Director, Dr Ronan Fenton.

EHAAT Critical Care Paramedic, Adam Carr and Paediatric Registrar, Dr Hannah Pool discuss challenges

Demonstrations take place in the break

• Whether ‘down-time’ in paediatric arrests is a good prognosticator.

• The importance of dealing with fears and anxieties before treating children.

• The value of training and being familiar with equipment in high pressure situations.

• How and what we can learn from other industries.

• Developing new systems for the benefit of patients and their families.

• Continuing to learn from malicious threats and incidents.

• Caring for each other and thinking about how paediatric cases might continue to affect us.

Feedback from the day was overwhelmingly positive and we look forward to seeing how we can further enhance the conference next year for its tenth anniversary.

Topics discussed during the day included:

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What the clinical team are working towards in the next financial year:

Preparing for 24/7 operations.

Research into the impact of carrying blood supplies.

Major incident training with EEAST.

Continue working with Anglia Ruskin University and develop relations with Hertfordshire University.

Review of simulation equipment needs.

Further improving the safe, legal and appropriate collection and sharing of patient information.

Welcoming the first pre-hospital emergency medicine trainees.

Developing training and simulation for those challenging but rarer incidents that involve young children and babies.


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It has been another busy and memorable year for the Charity, with plenty of events, fundraising initiatives, clinical and operational developments to share with our supporters.

Our Motorcycle Run events continued to flourish, and the 10th Anniversary Strictly Air Ambulance saw professional dancers Neil and Katya Jones add some star quality to the proceedings.

We were delighted to be able to announce that a planning application had been submitted to Epping Forest District Council for our new airbase at North Weald. We were also able to share the news that 2018

saw a record number of patients attended by our critical care teams. Just before the end of the year covered by this report, our critical care teams began carrying blood on board the helicopters and RRVs. All three announcements received widespread media coverage.

The Charity relies on the generosity of the people and businesses of Essex and Hertfordshire. It’s the support we receive for our events, shops, fundraising efforts, Flight for Life Lottery, gifts in wills and via our 3,000 collection tins that enables us to fund our life-saving work.

We can’t fly without you.

Flying to New Heights In September 2018 we hosted ‘Flying to New Heights’, a highly successful event that gave business leaders across Essex and Hertfordshire an insight into the world of aviation, and in particular the Charity’s life-saving work. The event was held at our North Weald Airbase in partnership with the Institute of Directors East of England. During the evening, which was compered by BBC presenter David Whiteley, guests heard from inspirational speaker Mandy Hickson, a former RAF Fast Jet Pilot.

Regular GivingIn March 2019 we appointed a Regular Giving Manager to develop and implement a regular giving programme as part of our income diversification plans. We hope to attract new supporters into the programme predominantly with telemarketing and direct mail campaigns.

Legacy incomeWe continue to promote legacy giving through a range of sensitive campaigns across different media platforms including radio, local press and social media. We also hold yearly legacy events: one in Essex and one in Hertfordshire. In the year to the end of March 2019 the amount received via legacies went up from £1,265,000 to £1,561,000 an increase of 23.4%.

How we do what we do: Fundraising and Marketing

Pam Withrington Fundraising & Marketing Director

Support us withregular donations

FUNDRAISING


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Mandy Hickson speaking at ‘Flying to New Heights’

Strictly Air Ambulance 2019The 10th anniversary Strictly Air Ambulance, held in front of a packed house at Colchester’s Charter Hall on Saturday 23rd March 2019, raised more than £17,500.EHAAT Critical Care Paramedic, James Mullett, danced his way to victory at the event in front of a panel of judges that included celebrity dancers Neil and Katya Jones. Partnered by professional dancer Emma Burrell of Starlight Dancing in Colchester, James wowed the audience with his two dances. After performing foxtrot to ‘I Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You’ his showdance saw him dressed as Freddie Mercury for ‘I Want To Break Free’.

As well as scoring the five couples, Neil and Katya took to the floor for two demonstration dances before leading the audience in a ‘Gangnam style’ dance.

Strictly Air Ambulance 2019

EVENTS

2121Our programme of events enjoyed mixed fortunes. Strictly Air Ambulance and our two motorcycle events flourished, and both our Heli Hound dog walks attracted a good number of supporters. Regrettably we had to cancel both our cycling events due to problems signing up sufficient participants and marshals.


Harwich Motorcycle Run 2018More than 4,000 motorcyclists took part in the Motorcycle Run on Sunday 9th September 2018 from Ford Dunton to the Family Fun Day at Harwich. The event raised an amazing £41,000.

Spectators and participants enjoyed a day of entertainment including live music, trade stands and a range of food outlets. A highlight of the afternoon was a visit by the Charity’s MD902 helicopter and critical care team.

We are grateful to the biking community for supporting this event so enthusiastically, to all the people who turned out along the route and at the finish to support them.

Harwich Motorcycle Run 2018

The Charity was well prepared for the introduction of GDPR in May 2018 thanks to our ‘Keep in Touch’ campaign. This important campaign ensured that EHAAT was GDPR-compliant well before the May 2018 deadline, with a clean database consisting only of supporters who wish to stay in touch with details of their preferences.

After contacting all our supporters to establish their preferences, we can now effectively use the names stored and

managed on our CRM system. This means we are confident that we are only contacting people who wish to hear from us, about subjects they are interested in and by the most appropriate means. Being able to be more targeted when we approach supporters has reduced wastage and costs. This is welcomed by our supporters.

GDPR is now built in to all EHAAT activities going forward. It is part of who we are and what we do.

on users visiting the website compared to previous year.

in Instagram followers over the year.

on Facebook and Twitter over the year.

50/50 split between male and female audiences visiting the website.

are mission statistics, Harwich Motorcycle Run and the lottery results.

across 482 newspapers, websites, TV and radio stations.


21% increase

49% increase

3,707 mentions

Increase in website users aged 25-34.

Increase of 3,343 followers

Most visited website pages

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MARKETING

We continue to see strong growth and interaction across all forms of communication:

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Our year in headlines


“Essex & Herts Air Ambulance to carry blood supplies” Potter’s Bar Today 13.03.18

“Busy year for air ambulance charity sees record number of life-saving flights” Dunmow Broadcast 13.02.18

“Still flying high after 20 years of life saving” Evening Gazette 28.05.18

“Meet the flying heroes of Essex”Braintree & Witham Times 15.06.18

“Ambulance chief Jane’s dedication is honoured” Basildon Echo 18.06.18

“Air ambulance charity appoints new trustees” St Albans and Harpenden 09.11.18

“Defibrillators in public places set to help save lives” Basildon Advertiser 08.11.18

“Mont Blanc trek raises £24,000”Evening Gazette 28.05.18

“Cardiac arrest bystanders are encouraged to use defibrillator” Stevenage Comet 18.10.18

“Helipad takes Basildon Hospital services to above par” Evening Gazette 28.05.18

“Students and staff make a splash to raise £6,500” Hertfordshire Mercury 12.12.18

“Strictly Air Ambulance fundraiser raises £17.5k” Braintree and Witham Times 29.03.18


EHAAT could not do the work it does without the support of volunteers.

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VOLUNTEERS

Our dedicated team of volunteers play a vital part in raising awareness of our life-saving work, assisting with support in our local communities and helping to increase income. By the end of the year the number of volunteers had increased from 310 to 369.

EHAAT could not do the work it does without the support of volunteers. From helping at fundraising events to working in our shops, volunteers play a vital role in

helping us raise the money that enables us to carry out our life-saving work.

Our existing volunteers do a fantastic job, but we are always keen to hear from people with some time to spare. We can use existing skills and help develop new ones. Volunteers help us collect tins, marshal at our big events, assist with administration tasks and give airbase tours. There’s a role to suit everyone.

A day with Ray In June 2018 British actor Ray Winstone, our celebrity patron, volunteered a day of his time and acting talents to support the Charity which was used in marketing campaigns to help raise awareness of EHAAT.

He said: “It’s a pleasure to volunteer with EHAAT, they always make me feel welcome with a bacon sandwich on arrival!”

Charity shop challenge In January 2019 groups of staff from Tesco gave a massive boost to sales across six of our charity shops by volunteering for the day. They brought treats to tempt customers through the doors, donated clothes and lots of enthusiasm!

The volunteers did everything from tagging clothes and restocking the shelves to dressing the windows and persuading passers-by to take a look inside, all with many smiles on their faces.

Takings were well up on a usual day across the shops and in addition to fundraising efforts also going on at the Tesco Office in Welwyn Garden City an outstanding £10,894 was raised to support the Charity!

The retail division generated income of £533,000, an increase of 70% over the previous year. We continued to grow and opened a new shop in Frinton-on-Sea as well as scope out many potential locations for shops to open in the coming financial year.

In addition, the growth of our retail premises continued with the opening of our new warehouse and donation drop-off point in Stevenage in May 2018. As well as offering the facilities to receive many donation items which will be distributed to and sold through the charity shops across Essex and Hertfordshire, the warehouse also houses a new E-commerce team who sell donated high value and collectable goods online.

“Everyone works as a team to make sure that we get as much money as we can from donated items”, explains Tracey Gwynne, E-commerce Manager. “The first stop for most items is the shops. The managers then cast their eyes over donated items and maybe do some research online. Our motto is ‘if in doubt, don’t throw it out’. Something you might throw in the bin could be worth thousands.”

All our shops are run by charity shop managers and supported by volunteersLesley Greensmith has been a volunteer in several of EHAAT’s shops, and currently

helps three afternoons a week at the Buntingford shop.

She explains: “When I retired I was wondering what to do to keep myself active. I wanted to give something back. I really enjoy helping in the shop. Everyone is very friendly.”

Lesley says she particularly enjoys meeting customers: “We have quite a few regulars, and it’s good when you get to know people.Quite a few interesting items get donated. Only recently a really nice guitar came in. We had lots of fun when one customer who knew how to play it dropped in and started singing some songs!”

Retired teacher Bronwyn Martin, who currently works in EHAAT’s Hitchin shop has been a volunteer for five years, and had special reason for getting involved with the Charity.

She explained: “One of my sons was one of the first paramedics on the Herts aircraft. I promised him when I retired it was one of the things that I would do.”

Bronwyn is struck by the lengths that some people go to help out: “Two retired ladies filled their trollies and came from the other side of Hitchin by bus to donate. It’s amazing what people do, they really go out of their way!”

25


RETAIL

Donation drop-off point

Volunteer, Lesley Greensmith, at the Buntingford shop

Frinton shop opening


By the end of March 2019 more than 100,000 supporters were playing our Flight for Life Lottery, with a total of 191,952 chances. This was an increase of 12% on last year. This growth means we are approaching the £10 million annual sales cap imposed on society lotteries.

We contract two professional canvassing organisations which represent our values to the wider community. Through contractual terms and conditions, regular meetings and training we ensure they follow the Charity’s values and that their activities are monitored.

All complaints received are followed up with the canvassing companies concerned and are reported to the board of trustees. During 2018/2019, we received 34 such complaints, out of over 62,000 new sign-ups. The activities of these organisations are also regulated by the Gambling Commission and Fundraising Regulator.

In our efforts to help protect vulnerable people, we require all canvassers to be Dementia Friends and to attend a dementia awareness training course. Underage players are not permitted to join the Lottery; we also limit the number of chances players may have in the Lottery.


More than 100,000 supporters were playing our Flight for Life Lottery.

26

Proceeding with the additional lottery license application.

Working on our core areas of fundraising diversification including: retail, regular giving and major donors.

Opening more charity shops and implementing an EPOS system so that we can capture Gift Aid.

Two major donor events are planned.

Developing a line of branded merchandise for our new online shop.

Increase awareness of the Charity in Hertfordshire.

Hosting the 20th anniversary Motorcycle Run and Family Fun Day at Harwich.

What the fundraising and marketing teams are working towards in the next financial year:

2727

We bring the hospital to the patient.

The Charity had another strong financial year, generating a total £14.5 million in income. Of this, £9.7 million came from our Flight for Life Lottery which continues to be our main source of income. However, we also saw a big increase this year in income from legacies, which at almost £1.6 million increased by over 23% from the previous year.

We continued to invest this financial year in retail growth, opening a further new shop and expanding our E-commerce presence as we follow our strategy to diversify our sources of income.

The year saw our expenditure on charitable activities increase by 13.6% to £5.9 million. This included a full year of running costs and depreciation relating to the AW169, purchased part way through the previous year. We also incurred costs involved in putting the necessary infrastructure in place to allow for the introduction of carrying blood products on board our helicopters and RRVs.

The £4.1 million surplus of income over expenditure for the year was added to reserves available for future delivery of our charitable objectives. By the end of the year our total reserves stood at £28.2 million, of which £6.9 million relates to fixed assets and includes the AW169 purchased last

year, together with the two new Volvo RRVs purchased during the year. We have also designated reserves totalling £4.75 million towards forthcoming capital projects at both North Weald and Earls Colne. This leaves the Trust with unrestricted general reserves (free reserves) of £16.5 million at the year end.

To safeguard the operation of the service should our income fail or in the event of an unexpected eventuality, the trustees aim to hold between 12 and 24 months’ total expenditure in unrestricted general reserves. They also take account of the current strategy to significantly expand both service delivery and related fundraising activities in the medium term, and will review future plans should free reserves fall outside of this range. The Charity remains well placed to fund the expansion of its life-saving service.

The majority of the Charity’s reserves are represented by cash and short term fixed deposits. An Investment Advisory Committee, which includes both trustees with relevant experience and a professional fund manager, helps to advise the board on investment matters and is tasked with protecting cash reserves from the depreciating effects of inflation and to optimise returns over the longer term within an acceptable level of risk.

How we do what we do: Finance

28


The surplus of income was added to reserves available for future delivery of our charitable objectives.

£1 27p 40p 33p

For every £1 given in 2018/2019:

is retained for future delivery

is spent on charitable services

is spent on raising funds

Jonathan AgerFinance Director

Key sources of income for 2018/2019: 29

Collection tins:

£117,154

In memoria:

£272,670

Lottery and Raffles:

£9,723,739

Fundraising events:

£188,758Investment income:

£109,427

Legacies:

£1,561,318

25

0841 16

Charity Shops:

£532,965

Grants:

£66,620Donations:

£1,473,304


Maximising the functionality of the new accounts system throughout the charity.

Restructuring of the Lottery to obtain a second Gambling Commission licence to enable the Lottery to grow past the current £10 million cap.

Increased investments as the trustees seek to protect cash reserves from the depreciating effects of inflation and optimise returns over the long term.

What the finance team are working towards in the next financial year:

30


All financial information within this Annual Review has been extracted from the Trust’s audited financial statement for 2018/2019 which was filed at Companies House.

Income from:Donations and legaciesCharitable activitiesTrading activitiesInvestments

TOTAL INCOME

Expenditure on:Raising funds Charitable activities

TOTAL EXPENDITURE

Net surplus before investment gains/(losses) Net gains/(losses) on investments

Net income/(expenditure)before other recognised gains and losses

Net movement in funds

Reconciliation of funds:Total funds brought forward

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

3,526,89753,124

9,452,411 103,426

13,135,858

4,493,355 5,238,668

9,732,023

3,403,835 199,055

3,204,780

3,204,780

20,900,904

24,105,684

3,846,29466,620

10,494,111109,247

14,516,272

4,781,140 5,949,513

10,730,653

3,785,619 281,753

4,067,372

4,067,372

24,105,684

28,173,056

Totalfunds2018

£

Totalfunds2019

£

31


Fixed assetsIntangible assets 57,027 33,094Tangible assets 6,849,389 7,109,639Investments 8,994,333 4,766,517

15,900,749 11,909,250

Current assetsStocks 19,761 43,565Debtors 432,912 301,404Investments 4,561,698 7,391,986Cash at bank and in hand 13,657,420 5,774,595 18,671,791 13,511,550

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (1,385,113) (1,315,116)

Net current assets 12,272,307 12,196,434

Net assets 28,173,056 24,105,684

Charity fundsRestricted funds 784 1,977Unrestricted funds 28,172,272 24,103,707

TOTAL FUNDS 28,173,056 24,105,684

2018££

2019££

Highlights of the yearEssex & Herts Air Ambulance

32

April 2018

October 2018

May 2018

November 2018

June 2018

December 2018

EHAAT clinicians flew to Bologna, Italy, to give a workshop on pre-hospital REBOA (a technique used to control haemorrhage in trauma patients) and thoracotomy (a surgical incision into the chest wall to access the organs) at the Exposanita Health Exhibitionand Conference.

EHAAT opened a new helipad to service patients in accessing Basildon Hospital. The helipad was constructed free-of-charge by Natta Building Company. Previously patients arriving in the air ambulance would land at South Essex College before being transported by land ambulance to the hospital. The development continues to ensure patients receive the best care as quickly as possible.

We opened a Donation Drop-off Point and Warehouse in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. As well as offering the facilities to receive and store many donation items which will be distributed and sold across the Charity’s shops, the warehouse also houses a new E-commerce team who sell donated high value and collectable goods online.

We welcomed Claire Smith and Andy Tunningley as trustees of EHAAT and thanked Clare Dobie who stepped down as a trustee after nearly ten years’ service. Claire and Andy bring a wealth of business experience and a real passion for the work of the Charity and we look forward to working with them.

CEO, Jane Gurney, is named Director of the Year in the Public/Third Sector category by the Institute of Directors for the East of England. She accepted the award on behalf of everyone who has helped make EHAAT what it is today and hopes the award will help further raise the profile of the Charity.

The Charity applied for planning permission to build new premises at North Weald Airfield. Building our own facility at North Weald will give us security of tenure, result in significant cost savings over leasing a new building built to the same specification and it will not only benefit EHAAT but the local pre-hospital care community due to its planned facilities.

33

July 2018

January 2019

August 2018

February 2019

September 2018

March 2019

We visited London Luton Airport to say thank you to the airport and Harrods Aviation. Harrods Aviation agreed to waive all handling costs if one of EHAAT’s helicopters needs to call at the airport, while London Luton Airport agrees to supply fuel free-of-charge should the aircraft need to refuel on the way back from a mission.

Statistics show that in 2018, EHAAT attended a total of 1,491 patients, making it the busiest year ever for the Charity’s critical care teams. The figures show an increase of 2% on 2017 with 1,461 patients and a rise of 38% on the 2016 total of 1,077 patients.

All existing EHAAT charity shops were updated with the new red and yellow colours adopted by EHAAT last year in order to bring staff, volunteers and supporters across the two counties together with a single unambiguous identity. A spike in sales was immediately noticed across the shops after re-opening with the new look!

We opened a new charity shop in Frinton-on-Sea, taking the total number of EHAAT shops across Essex and Hertfordshire to seven. The shop is officially opened by Mrs Bonnie Hill MBE, Deputy Lieutenant of Essex who is joined by guests Iris Johnson, The Mayor of Frinton, and Tina Whatling from Harwich, who was airlifted in 2016.

It was a busy but incredibly successful month in the fundraising calendar: a group of intrepid trekkers took part in our Master Mont Blanc fundraising challenge and raised nearly £25,000 between them, collections during National Air Ambulance Week raised over £25,000 and the Motorcycle Run from Dunton to Harwich brought in over £41,000!

Our helicopters and RRVs started carrying blood on board. The ability to give a pre-hospital transfusion at the scene of an incident could be a life-saving intervention for patients suffering significant bleeding and blood loss. This early transfusion will significantly reduce the time lost in having to take a patient to a hospital to receive blood.


We can’t fly without you.34

Flight House, The Business Centre, Earls Colne Business Park, Earls Colne, Colchester, Essex, CO6 2NS

T: 0345 2417 690E: [email protected]: ehaat.org

Charity Number: 1108989

bringing the hospital to the patient...hospital to the patient. our aim is to save lives, reduce or...

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