Patrons go behind the scenes at Midlands Air Ambulance HQ

Patron members from five Chambers of Commerce across the West Midlands came together for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity in Shropshire.

They spent a fascinating morning at the organisation’s new £11 million base near RAF Cosford, which provides life-saving medical support to six Midlands counties.

It included a tour of the hangars and training rooms, a briefing on the charity’s fundraising campaigns, and the chance to take an up-close look inside one of the helicopters on the Cosford helipad, speaking to pilots and medics.

The event was organised by Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, and also welcomed patron members from the Black Country, Staffordshire, Coventry & Warwickshire, and Hereford & Worcester.

It was the latest in a regular series of collaborative events designed to give patrons of neighbouring chambers the chance to meet and network with their counterparts, and broaden their contacts.

The charity’s head of education and training, Emily Browne, demonstrated some of the team’s first aid training practices, and gave patron members chance to try performing CPR on their simulation manikins.

Pam Hodgetts, the charity’s corporate partnerships manager, gave an overview of the service, explaining how it had responded to more than 75,000 missions since its creation in 1991 and needed to raise around £14 million a year to maintain the service. 

Rachel Owen, director of membership at Shropshire Chamber, said: “It was a fabulous occasion on a beautiful sunny day; the perfect opportunity to network with patrons from across the region and showcase our wonderful county.

“Being a Chamber patron is a commitment to the success of the local business community. We work hard to give them creative opportunities to connect and meet like-minded businesses at premium networking events like this.”

Ruth Ross, Shropshire Chamber chief executive, added: “It was lovely to welcome businesses from such a broad range of sectors, and wide geographical area, who all share the same objective – to see our fantastic region thrive, and grow.

“We’re so lucky in Shropshire to have so many inspirational and fascinating businesses, which gives us chance to organise stimulating, thought-provoking and enjoyable occasions like this.”

Pic: Patron members from five West Midlands chambers at the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity headquarters at Cosford