In April we told you how we helped to get Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance off the ground with £200k of funding.
In its first eight weeks, the life-saving air ambulance helicopter has flown over 70 missions all over Scotland, clocking up around 6,240 miles in over 52 flying hours.
At the end of June, the charity air ambulance came to the rescue once more when a mercy dash to the Moor of Rannoch Hotel helped to save the life of a retired SSE employee who was on a walking holiday in the North of Scotland.
George Lynch, who lives in Stoke Poges and worked in Reading, is a retired Design Engineer whose career with SSE spanned 37 years before his retirement in August of 2010.
George had taken a break during a walking holiday and booked a stay at the Moor of Rannoch hotel, not far from one of SSE’s iconic hydro sites, Rannoch Power Station.
His stay was cut short when he unexpectedly suffered a heart attack. Luckily for George, Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) was on hand to take him from the remote hotel to Dundee’s Ninewells hospital; a 25-minute journey through the air that would otherwise have taken 3 hours by road.
63-year-old George said: “I was confused at first - but delighted - when I spotted the instantly recognisable blue and green SSE colours! Luckily, I am expected to make a good recovery and return to a near normal life thanks to the great work by everyone at SCAA and the funding by Scottish Hydro.
"There is no doubt that the quick attention by SCAA paramedics and the speed of the air transfer to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, played a vital role in the outcome that day."
SCAA’s Chief Executive, Gavin Davey, talked about the first few of operations for the Helimed 76 helicopter: “We serve the public all over Scotland alongside our Scottish Ambulance Service counterparts. We can turn hours into minutes, as we did in this case, and we were pleased to be able to bring help to a remote community and reduce a 3 hour road journey into 25 minutes by air - this is when we are at our most effective. It is only by the valuable support of companies such as Scottish Hydro that we were able to help one of their former employees when he needed it most.
“Everyone at SCAA is delighted to hear that George is well on the road to recovery and we look forward to welcoming him on a visit to the base next month.”
Everyone at SSE would like to wish George well in his recovery.
