Angela Brearley

A Yorkshire Air Ambulance HEMS Paramedic has been chosen as one of 2,022 people to carry the Queen’s Commonwealth Baton in the relay preceding this year’s Commonwealth Games.

Sammy Wills from Sheffield, a paramedic with Yorkshire Ambulance NHS Trust (YAS), who is seconded full-time to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, was nominated by her brother for her 20 years of service working for the life-saving rapid response emergency charity.

The baton will be travelling through 72 Commonwealth nations before the opening of the Games in Birmingham on the 28th of July. Sammy has been selected to carry the baton in Saltaire on 12^th July  2022.

Speaking of her nomination, Sammy said:” I am very excited to be chosen as one of the Commonwealth Baton bearers in Yorkshire. The 2022 Commonwealth Games mark a fantastic year as it is also 20 years since I started flying as a Paramedic with Yorkshire Air Ambulance Charity (YAA), seconded from Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS).

I believe this is the reason my brother and Dad got together and nominated me!   I will smile and think of all the YAS and YAA teams I am representing, as we always aim to Aspire Higher as I proudly hold the Queen’s Baton up high! It’s a huge honour to represent the incredible charity I work for and the county I serve and live in.”

Sammy will officially mark 20 years of service with the YAA in September, and almost 30 years with YAS, this year after starting back as a YAA secondee in 2002.

Abby Barmby, Director of Marketing & Communications at the YAA, said: “We are incredibly proud of Sammy and delighted that she has been chosen to be one of the Commonwealth baton bearers. Sammy has worked at the Charity for nearly 20 years and her enthusiasm and commitment for her role has always been commended, often going above and beyond her duty to educate the people of Yorkshire about the service we provide. We would like to express our heartfelt congratulations to Sammy on this fantastic opportunity.”

Bracken Ghyll golf club in Addingham, West Yorkshire have announced Yorkshire Air Ambulance as their charity of the year following a member’s cardiac arrest earlier this year.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance is a life-saving rapid response emergency service. Last year, they treated 325 patients in West Yorkshire, 13 of which were cardiac arrests.

On the 21^st of April 2022, Nigel Boot was playing golf when he suffered a cardiac arrest at the 18^th tee.  The person he was playing with immediately phoned 999 and a retired nurse who was passing by in a buggy stopped to give CPR.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance dispatched their Critical Care Team and was able to use the defibrillator to start Nigel’s heart. He was taken to Airedale hospital by land ambulance, where he was fitted with an implanted defibrillator (ICD).

“The air ambulance landed on the golf course and to this day, I still can’t believe how they managed to land in the area. Fortunately, they managed to get me going again. I wouldn’t be here without everyone’s help that day”, said Nigel.

To raise funds for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, the Bracken Ghyll Golf Club is hosting a Men’s Captains Day, Ladies’ Captains Day, a 72-hole challenge and a Presidents day across June and July. They also have a community event scheduled for Saturday 20^th August, where families from local communities are invited to visit and support the day and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance promotional vehicle will be in attendance.

Helen Berriman, West Yorkshire Fundraiser for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said: “We would like to thank Bracken Ghyll golf club for choosing us as their charity of the year. We were glad to be able to help one of their members recently in their time of need and the money raised from future events will help greatly towards keeping our two helicopters flying and saving more lives across the region.”

From bucket collections to event organisation, talks with local businesses and communities to cheque presentations, we have a vital community of over 200 volunteers that are an integral part of the Charity, helping to spread the word far and wide and keeping the Charity in the forefront of their communities’ minds.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) is a life-saving rapid response charity serving 5 million people across 4 million acres of Yorkshire and carries out over 1,700 missions every year. We operate two state-of-the-art Airbus H-145 helicopters and need to raise £12,000 every day to keep saving lives.

Our volunteers come from all walks of life, from those who are retired and looking to give up their spare time to some of our former patients who would like to give back to the service that helped them when they needed it the most.

In 2020, we launched our ‘What’s your why’ campaign to celebrate our annual Yellow Yorkshire Day, asking former patients, supporters, and staff why they support Yorkshire Air Ambulance. This year, we are turning our focus on our amazing volunteers.

John Mitchell, North Yorkshire Volunteer

John Mitchell is a former patient and volunteers in the North region. In 2014, John from Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire was crushed by a five and a half tonne machine. Our crew were dispatched, and we flew John to Leeds General Infirmary.

Speaking of why he volunteers for the Charity, John said: “I can’t think of words to say to thank YAA for that day they came to help me.  It gives me a great feeling that I am playing a small part for someone else that might need the service in the future.”

Margaret Potter, North Yorkshire Volunteer

“Sadly my husband passed away and I thought I could either sit at home and do nothing or get out there and do something.  I heard fellow volunteer Mike give a talk about YAA, thought that would be interesting to be involved in, and was put in touch with Helen, the then Community Fundraiser for the North region.  We talked about my interests and I agreed I couldn’t bake cakes but would be happy to collect tins.  I now help at events and stalls and have a long list of tin venues.  I always say that YAA saved my life and gave me a life with something to do.  I work hard for YAA and really enjoy what I do”, said Margaret.

Mike and Elaine West Yorkshire Volunteers

Mike and Elaine volunteer in the West region and also provide vital administrative support in our Cayley House office.

“Volunteering for YAA has introduced us to many lovely people and helped a wonderful charity raise vital funds. We contribute our time and our energies, which in turn help to keep the air ambulances flying. The benefits to us as volunteers are great but the rewards for our communities are even greater”, they said.

Helen Murray Sharpe, West Yorkshire Volunteer

“I decided to support the brilliant work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance, having seen it on Helicopter Heroes, as it was at the time, on television. So I offered to give my time to do talks to raise awareness of their services and collect funds from groups around West Yorkshire. I’ve met lots of lovely people and visited some fabulous parts of the county to give the talks. I receive great support from the staff of the Charity and so this means it’s a fantastic experience to be a volunteer for YAA. I recommend it”, said Helen.

Scott Remmer, West Yorkshire Volunteer.

In September 2016, Scott was involved in a serious road traffic incident in Huddersfield that left him with a traumatic head injury that had a massive impact on his life

Speaking of the Charity, Scott said: “To Yorkshire Air Ambulance, I love you guys dearly, especially those that encountered me back in 2016. I can now proudly and very gladly say, I now feel indebted to this largely unrecognised, yet vital charity. They are lifesavers.”

He continued: “After discovering during my hospitalisation, that the heroes that saved my life are a charity purely funded through charitable donations and organisations that kindly offered financial support, I was eager to begin doing the same and offering my help and support in any way that I could. Low and behold, YAA is always happy to recruit passionate volunteers, so thankfully I was welcomed aboard the volunteering team with open arms back in around 2017.”

Yellow Yorkshire is a fundraising event held on the first Friday in July, to raise vital funds for the Charity.  Each year thousands of pounds are raised by people dressing in yellow or organising a yellow-themed fundraising event.  This year it will be held on Friday 1st July.

We are also asking supporters to send their own messages of why they support the Charity. This can be done via our social media channels @YorkshireAirAmb on Twitter, Yorkshire Air Ambulance on Facebook, and YorkshireAirAmbulance on Instagram, with the hashtag #whatsyourwhy

Click HERE for more information about Yellow Yorkshire Day 2022.

Click HERE for more YAA news.

Royston Schoolboy, Oliver Hawden has received an achievement award from Barnsley council for his community work raising funds for Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

In the last year (2021) Yorkshire Air Ambulance has responded to 223 incidents across South Yorkshire, 38 of which were in Barnsley. As an independent charity requiring £12,000 a day to keep both of their air ambulances in the skies and saving lives across the region, the support they receive from local communities is the life-blood of the service.

Oliver’s grandad, Stephen Croft, was airlifted by Yorkshire Air Ambulance after suffering a cardiac arrest pitchside at the Barnsley vs Burton Albion game on 22^nd September 2018.  He collapsed in front of a crowd of 11,000 people at the Club’s Oakwell Stadium ground before the YAA landed and took him to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital for treatment. The incident was very widely publicised at the time due to Stephen’s collapse happening just prior to kick off, in front of a packed crowd at Oakwell.

As well as his grandad Stephen, Oliver’s mum Nichola Hawden has also become a registered volunteer for the YAA. Oliver has also been helping out on Yorkshire Air Ambulance stalls with his family and fundraising at his school and Scout group. He has also talks to his peers about the work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance and is keen to share his knowledge about the charity.

His school, Royston St John Baptist CE Primary School, nominated Oliver for the Royston Alliance award, which champions young people who have put themselves forward to help improve the communities they live in, and he was presented with his award by Councillor Caroline Makinson on 16^th May 2022

Rachel Steele, Deputy Headteacher at Royston St John Baptist CE Primary School said: “We always celebrate our pupils’ achievements in and out of school and Oliver’s charity work for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an achievement to be proud of.  Oliver and his family have helped to raise the profile of the organisation within the school through fundraising opportunities and by promoting the work of the air ambulance with information sessions for pupils. Oliver is proud of his links and speaks about his involvement with teachers and his fellow peers. Oliver’s Achievement Award is a way to celebrate his dedication and passion of such a worthy cause.”

Vickie Bowden, Yorkshire Air Ambulance Regional Fundraising Manager (South & West), said: “It’s great to see people getting involved with fundraising at a young age and Oliver should be proud of his achievements. We cannot thank him enough for his support. Well done on your award, Oliver. ”

Click HERE to find out more about volunteering for Yorkshire Air Ambulance and volunteering opportunities.

Click HERE for more YAA news.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) has welcomed seven new helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) Paramedics from across the Yorkshire region to their crew.

The Paramedics are seconded from partner Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS), on an initial six-month basis.  They form part of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance Critical Care Team, comprising a team of anesthetic and emergency medicine consultants, and 23 Paramedics who work as crew on the two YAA helicopters delivering the life-saving service 365 days a year to 5 million people across 4 million acres of Yorkshire.

Lindsey Newey (Sheffield)

Lindsey lives in Sheffield and studied to become a Paramedic at Coventry University. Initially working in Bristol for South Western Ambulance Service, Lindsey then moved to Yorkshire Ambulance Service before joining YAA.

“I’m very excited about joining Yorkshire Air Ambulance. It has been a long-term goal of mine to work in HEMS and I’m excited to get started and stuck in,” said Lindsey.

Becky Knight (Huddersfield)

Becky is from Wakefield and previously worked in a dual role as an ambulance paramedic and lecturer practitioner in human and health sciences at the University of Huddersfield.

Becky said: “I have always been interested in helicopters and critical care. I wanted to become a HEMS paramedic to challenge myself, help others and learn from the team’s experience and expertise.”

Tammy Williams (Pontefract)

Tammy completed a three-year BSC Paramedic Science degree in London and qualified in 2016.  She initially worked out of Deptford and came back up to Yorkshire and was based at Wakefield before joining YAA.

Comparing London to Yorkshire, Tammy said: “Working on the land ambulance you have a lot more trauma such as RTCs and stabbings in London and the trauma is quite invasive. It’s a lot more rural up here. Being exposed to that level of trauma in London made me want to be a HEMS Paramedic and expand my knowledge.”

Fiona Blaylock (Harrogate)

Fiona is from Harrogate and previously worked as a Combat Medical Technician in the army and in a prison healthcare department before becoming a Paramedic in 2013.

“When you’re on the road as a Paramedic with a patient and you see the air ambulance arrive, you know the patient will get extra care and sometimes get to the hospital quicker that could potentially save their life,” said Fiona.

Andy Watson (Leeds)

Andy lives in Leeds and has been a Paramedic for four years, progressing to Team Leader. Prior to working as a Paramedic, Andy was a personal trainer, a bodyguard, and was in the military.

When asked why he wanted to work as a HEMS Paramedic, Andy said: “HEMS is the best job within the ambulance service and it’s a job most paramedics aspire to.”

Sam Berridge (Bridlington)

Sam lives in Bridlington and began his career working in the Coastguard Search and Rescue Team for nine years before joining the ambulance service in 2016. He worked his way up to Team Leader before coming to  YAA.

“I wanted to work for Yorkshire Air Ambulance because it’s the best air ambulance in the country and brings the

very best care to critically ill patients.  Working in the fantastic small Critical Care Team will allow me to be part of this,” said Sam.

Terri-ann (Bridlington)

Terri-ann became a Paramedic in 2017, initially based out of Keighley, then Pateley Bridge, and finally Harrogate. She then completed a secondment at HART, Yorkshire Ambulance Service’s Hazardous Area Response Team before joining Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

When asked why she wanted to join YAA, Terri-Ann said: “I wanted to work with the most amazing clinicians, Paramedics, and Pilots. The pre-hospital care they give and the speed that they can fly a patient to the hospital is incredible.”

You can meet the other members of the YAA crew over in the Meet our Team section of our website.

Read more YAA news HERE.

Staff at Harris+Co, a chartered accountancy firm in Barnsley have chosen Yorkshire Air Ambulance as their 2022 Charity of the Year, after their co-worker’s father was rescued and airlifted by the charity back in 2018.

Nichola Hawden, a Partner at Harris+Co, father Stephen Croft was airlifted by Yorkshire Air Ambulance after suffering a cardiac arrest pitchside at the Barnsley vs Burton Albion game on 22^nd September 2018.  He collapsed in front of a crowd of 11,000 people at the Club’s Oakwell Stadium ground before the YAA landed and took him to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital for treatment. The incident was very widely publicised at the time due to Stephen’s collapse happening just prior to kick-off, in front of a packed crowd at Oakwell.

In the last year (2021) Yorkshire Air Ambulance has responded to 223 incidents across South Yorkshire, 38 of which were in Barnsley. As an independent charity requiring £12,000 a day to keep both of their air ambulances in the skies and saving lives across the region, the support they receive from local businesses is the life-blood of the service.

Harris+Co intend on taking part in many of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance official events this year, including Hike4Helis where participants are encouraged to walk the equivalent distance in air miles from their Nostell airbase, to some of Yorkshire’s most popular landmarks, such as Cannon Hall Farm. They will also be planning some of their own fundraising initiatives and tackling the Total Warrior Challenge in June.

Nichola Hawden, Partner at Harris+Co and CSR Champion said: “We are absolutely delighted to announce that our team have chosen Yorkshire Air Ambulance as our Charity of the Year for 2022/23.  The YAA is a wonderful charity that provides a life-saving service to the people of Yorkshire and, having experienced first-hand the benefit the Charity has for patient outcomes following my own father’s collapse at Oakwell back in 2018, the YAA personally has a special place in my heart.  All our team are looking forward to getting involved with lots of fundraising events to help raise money for such a worthwhile cause”

Vickie Bowden, Yorkshire Air Ambulance Regional Fundraising Manager (South & West), said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Harris+Co for selecting us as their Charity of the Year for 2022. We look forward to working alongside them and helping to raise the profile of our charity as well as vital funds across the South Yorkshire region, so we can continue saving more lives across the county.”

Life-saving rapid response emergency service, Yorkshire Air Ambulance is urging holiday-goers to stay safe this bank holiday to prevent a rise in incidents across the region.

Over the last four years, the Charity has responded to 148 incidents on UK bank holidays across Easter, spring bank and Christmas. There has been almost a 10% increase in incidents since 2018.

In 2018, Yorkshire Air Ambulance responded to 33 incidents, followed by 40 in 2019 and 41 in 2020.  Bank holiday-related incidents dipped slightly to 34 in 2021.

Despite being in the midst of a pandemic and one bank holiday weekend under lockdown rules, 2020 was the busiest year between 2018 and 2021 for bank holiday call outs.

The most common bank holiday incidents are road traffic collisions and motorcycle incidents, of which within the last four years there have been 18, followed closely by falls and equestrian incidents. In 2020, the most common incident type was cycling.

Men were involved in nearly three times more incidents than women (52 vs 19) and the most common patient ages were between 40 – 65 years old.

This Easter saw the Charity respond to 21 incidents across the region, including serious incidents across some of Yorkshire’s motorways.

Paul Holmes, Clinical Operations Manager at Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said: “Bank holidays are a busy time not only for ourselves, but many emergency services as more people are out and about across the UK enjoying themselves and not always thinking about the necessary precautions. While we want people to enjoy their summer, we would also like to urge everyone to remain safe and be aware of common hazards that these busy time periods may bring.”

To find out more about the work of the YAA and how you can help support them, please visit www.yaa.org.uk.

Lucy Thornton from Monk Fryston near Selby who also attends Wakefield Girls’ high school has raised an impressive £1,365 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance through her Duke of Edinburgh bronze award.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance provides a life-saving rapid response emergency service to five million people across four million acres of Yorkshire. It costs £12,000 a day to keep of Yorkshire’s air ambulances maintained and in the air.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is an extracurricular activity to help young people gain life skills and enhance their CVs. To complete the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards, participants are encouraged to volunteer for a charity for six to 12 months depending on the award level.

Taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh award for the Thornton’s is a family affair. Lucy’s mum Sarah and sister both completed the award too.

Lucy chose to support Yorkshire Air Ambulance after they assisted her father Mike following a cycling incident in Knaresborough in September 2021. Their Critical Care Team treated Lucy’s dad and accompanied him by land ambulance to the hospital. He suffered brain injuries but has thankfully made a full recovery.

“I chose this charity because they help lots of people in need. If people weren’t so generous, there wouldn’t be an air ambulance because it is funded completely by donations”, said Lucy.

To raise much-needed funds for the life-saving service, Lucy organised a quiz afternoon at her local community centre, a raffle and her dad sold merchandise at his business.

A spokesperson for Wakefield Girls’ high school, said: “We are incredibly proud of the dedication and personal commitment that Lucy has shown in her DofE volunteering. Our DofE program is just one of the ways that students at Wakefield Girls’ are motivated and supported to make a difference in their community.  Well done Lucy – we look forward to supporting you further.”

Angela Vyas, West Yorkshire Community Fundraiser for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Lucy for supporting our Charity and raising an impressive £1,365 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance. It’s great to see young people getting involved in volunteering, they are the charity fundraisers of the future and will ensure the service the continuity of our service for many years to come.”

A Wakefield woman, who has now become a long-standing volunteer for the YAA, will have raised in excess of £50,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance following her partner’s tragic motorbike accident in 2010.

Tracy Gregory, from Ossett in Wakefield, along with support from her family and friends, has raised the money in memory of her partner Mick Cottam through a variety of fundraising events including several sponsored walks, a regular tombola and two big charity events.  Sadly, Tracy lost Mick in 2010 after he was involved in an accident on his motorbike.  Mick was an avid supporter of Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Tracy made it his legacy to continue supporting the charity following the incident.

“It all started when Mick’s work colleagues asked me if it was OK if they completed a ‘Three Peaks walk in memory of Mick to raise money for YAA, to which I said yes.  On the back of this, I decided to arrange the first charity night, in April 2012. This resulted in both events raising an amazing £9,800 for the Charity”, said Tracy.

In the last 10 years of supporting the YAA, Tracy has dedicated many hours to raise as many funds as she can. She has been part of the local Drighlington village committee and helped organise their annual gala/Drigmas – Xmas event and also a bucket collection each year on the village Santa Sleigh, which has now raised in excess of £20,000 and she also helps to organise regular tractor runs, which have now raised in excess of £50,000 for the Charity.

In April 2014, Tracy held her second charity night along with a 15 mile sponsored walk to which 16 people joined her.  This resulted in a total of £18,300 being raised.

As well as her own fundraising, Tracy became a registered volunteer for Yorkshire Air Ambulance in September 2012 and has now attended more than 500 events representing the charity.

She explained: “I wanted to do more for YAA and asked what I could do to help. It was mentioned that I should become a volunteer and I said I didn’t think I could do that due to work commitments of 50 to 60 hours per week all over the country.  Their response was “just do it in your spare time and make it work for you”.  I really do not have any spare time anymore as I fill my time doing as much as I can to raise awareness and funds for YAA, which I love.”

In November 2021, Tracy held her third charity night in aid of Yorkshire Air Ambulance which brought her fundraising total for the last two years alone to £27,500.  On the night, they had an auction, a raffle with 70 plus prizes and a sponsored shave for someone who hadn’t removed his beard and moustache since 1974.

Kerry Dwyer, Yorkshire Air Ambulance Fundraising Director (West and South), said:” We would like to thank Tracy and her family for all their hard work fundraising for us and bringing awareness about the work we do.  Tracy is a wonderful fundraiser and has also become a fantastic volunteer for the YAA over the year – we are extremely grateful for her time and dedication.  We’d also like to congratulate Tracy for reaching her £50,000 fundraising milestone, which is a phenomenal achievement.

It costs £12,000 every single day to keep both of Yorkshire’s air ambulances maintained and in the air and the money raised will help greatly towards the vital funding of our service.”

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) is calling on supporters to join their annual ‘Hike4Helis’ challenge this April to help raise vital funds for the life-saving Charity.

YAA serves five million people across Yorkshire and carries out over 1,300 missions every year. The Charity operates two, state-of-the-art Airbus H-145 helicopters and needs to raise £12,000 every day to keep their helicopter maintained and in the air.

Throughout April, YAA is challenging supporters to cycle, walk or run the distance in air miles to Cannon Hall Farm near Barnsley (10 miles) as part of ‘Team Pilot Percy’, The Cow and Calf Rocks at Ilkley (25 miles) as part of ‘Team Dr Priti’ or Whitby Abbey (65 miles) as part of ‘Team Paramedic Polly’. Participants could even go for all three and complete 100 miles and don’t have to physically travel to these locations.  People are encouraged to simply walk, run, cycle or use any method of their choice to complete the distance at a location convenient to them.

Those who complete the challenge will be sent an official YAA Hike4Helis certificate to acknowledge their achievement and are encouraged to share their progress and updates via social media channels.

Lin Stead, Fundraising Manager (East and North) for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance said: “The YAA relies entirely on the generosity of individuals and businesses and our Hike4Helis challenge is a great way for people of all ages to start their YAA fundraising journey and help a great cause. Any form of exercise is not only great for your physical health, but it can be a huge boost for your mental health too.  We want this challenge to be inclusive for everyone so people of all ages and abilities can join in and adapt the challenge to suit their capabilities.

It can be as simple as swapping a car journey for a walk each day, or for those looking for a bigger challenge, they can hike or run the distance over a weekend. You don’t have to stop at the suggested miles either, you can do as much or as little as you like, it’s the taking part that counts.  Our Mascots Polly Paramedic, Percy Pilot and Dr Priti will be participating too, so keep an eye out on our social channels and website for motivation and inspiration. We’re all really looking forward to Hike4helis 2022 and would like to thank everyone who will be joining us.”

For more information on how to take part and donate, please visit: https://www.yorkshireairambulance.org.uk/get-involved/events/yaa-events/hike4helis/