Two of the biggest stars from the world of rugby are the latest high profile names to champion the life saving work of the Midlands Air Ambulance charity.
England and Worcester fly half Andy Goode and ex-England skipper and Gloucester Centre/Backs Coach Mike Tindall have both been appointed as ambassadors for the Midlands Air Ambulance charity (Registered Charity Number 1143418 – Formerly 1001064)
Both professional Rugby players are the latest high profile sporting ambassadors to support the charity following on from the appointment of London 2012 TEAM GB Equestrian champions Carl Hester MBE, Nick Skelton OBE and Paralympian Lee Pearson OBE, all of whom were recently appointed ambassadors for the Midlands Air Ambulance.
Goode and Tindall will support the charity with its national and local fundraising and awareness to the rugby communities and the wider general public. The charity and its cause is particularly close to both players as the helicopter emergency medical service covers the counties of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire where both players live and play.
Midlands Air Ambulance responds to around 3000 emergency incidents per year. Figures collected by the charity show that sporting incidents were in the top five call-outs for the service. Last year alone it responded to 142 sporting incidents, many of which were rugby related. Of the 38,546 incidents responded to since 1991, sporting incidents have accounted for 2,238 call outs.
Injuries sustained on the Rugby pitch can often be life threatening and serious. Due to the physical nature of the sport, the service often attends to incidents where players have serious head, neck and spinal trauma. These types of serious injuries require the fastest possible medical attention and care. If a patient reaches hospital within 60 minutes of injury, their chances of survival are dramatically increased. The maximum flying time to hospital from anywhere in the five counties that the three Midland’s Air Ambulances serve is less than 15 minutes, meaning the charities rapid response is vital and crucial to saving lives.
The charity operates three state of the art Eurocopter EC135t2 air ambulance helicopters, which are based at Cosford Air Base, near Shifnal Shropshire (covering Shropshire and the West Midlands), Tatenhill Air Base, near Burton-on- ?Trent Staffordshire (covering Staffordshire and the West Midlands), and Strensham Services on the M5 Worcestershire (covering Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.
Andy Goode, fly half at Warriors, said: “The Midlands Air Ambulance has a strong connection serving the county of Worcestershire and Worcester Warriors has been a strong supporter of the charity. I am honoured and delighted along with Mike to be able to play a small part in supporting the great work of the Midlands Air Ambulance and to help raise awareness to the general public and the wider rugby community. It’s a service that many of us take for granted, yet it is vital that we all support this amazing service, that saves lives day in day out. “
Commenting on the ambassador appointments Midland’s Air Ambulance CEO Hanna Sebright said: “I am truly delighted to welcome Mike Tindall MBE and Andy Goode as ambassadors of the charity. Having the support of two professional Rugby players of such repute and standing from Gloucester and Worcester rugby clubs provides us with a real connection between the lifesaving work that we do and the sport of Rugby. It is particularly fitting that our charity serves the communities and people of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. Both Mike and Andy’s support will help us reach out and build awareness within the Rugby communities and the wider general public across the counties”