NFU branches have visited two of the region鈥檚 three air ambulance services 鈥� and the .
They heard how helicopters, and rapid response vehicles, take doctors and paramedics to patients in the fastest time possible, offering crucial care that would normally only be available in a hospital鈥檚 specialist emergency department.
At North Weald Airfield in Essex, members of the NFU鈥檚 Saffron Walden branch, Group Secretary Roger Willmott and Cambridgeshire County Adviser Rory Kerr met pilots, medical and fund-raising staff, and watched the helicopter lift off on another potentially life-saving mission.
They also toured the site鈥檚 state-of-the-art training facilities. These include a simulation room that can place teams in different scenarios, from treating patients in a farmer's field to in the middle of a city centre protest.
Alongside its two helicopters, Essex and Herts Air Ambulance has four rapid response vehicles, that can take a doctor and paramedic to an emergency when the helicopter can鈥檛 fly, such as during adverse weather conditions or when there are no suitable landing sites nearby.
Farmers heard that the charity receives no central government funding and has operating costs of 拢1 million per month.
Fund raising includes the annual , organised by farmers including Liz Lyon, whose son was airlifted by air ambulance after a serious accident 10 years ago.
In January, Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) welcomed members of NFU Redhill to its base, giving two fascinating tours.
Each tour started with a short presentation on the type of events and scenarios that they attend to give members an idea of the breadth of situations they cover, followed by a tour of their helicopter and rapid response vehicles.
County Adviser Harriet Henrick said: 鈥淭his was a fantastic, eye-opening tour of the marvellous work they do helping those most in need in the local area.鈥�
The air ambulance service relies on 88% of income from donations and fundraising to allow them to respond to over 3,300 incidents annually across Kent, Sussex and Surrey.
The remainder of the NFU East region is covered by , which provides life-saving care across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Since 2000, it has completed more than 38,000 missions, saving thousands of lives every year, with an average of eight calls per day.
Help to keep the air ambulance flying
Air ambulances rely on the generosity of the public to continue providing life-saving care. If you want to help, you can donate via: