Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) has recognised the services of former Trustee Robin Beal and former Chairman of Trustees Noel Dobbs at a presentation outside St Mary’s Hospital, Newport this afternoon (Tuesday).
Specially engraved glass bowls were handed over to the duo in recognition of all they have done for the life-saving charity, which celebrates 10 years of operational missions on Saturday (1st July). The presentation was made by HIOWAA Chairman of Trustees, Sir John Day.
Robin Beal, an Emergency Department Consultant at St Mary’s, was heavily involved in the considerable ground work necessary to set up the charity in the late 1990s and then became a founding Trustee when the Charity was first registered in 2005.
Noel Dobbs became Chairman of Trustees in September 2015, having served on the HIOWAA board of Trustees since 2008. He was succeeded by Sir John Day in February this year.
HIOWAA CEO Alex Lochrane commented:
“As two of our longest serving board members, Robin and Noel have shown unfailing commitment to HIOWAA. Under their governance the Charity has evolved to the point where today we are one of the leading Air Ambulance Charities in the UK. We owe them both a great deal.
“Our Isle of Wight Trustees bring a wealth of experience to the Charity and their links with St Mary’s Hospital, the Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trust and the local community are invaluable to us. We are committed to developing these relationships and to continuing to provide the highest level of emergency care to residents of the Isle of Wight.
“Over the months ahead we will be working closely with the Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trust to identify ways in which we can both enhance the support we give, as well as the skills of the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service and Isle of Wight NHS Trust clinical staff.”
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Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance provides a lifeline to the Isle of Wight; effectively bringing the emergency department to patients in their hour of need and transferring them to specialist hospitals on the mainland when necessary. It takes approximately 20 minutes for the Air Ambulance to reach the Isle of Wight from its airbase in Thruxton, Andover and in 2016 over 20% of HIOWAA’s missions were to the Island.
