# Irish air ambulance says it is a casualty of virus

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/03/01/irish-air-ambulance-says-it-is-a-casualty-of-virus/
- Published: 2020-03-01T17:40:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**An Irish air ambulance service which started operations last year has ceased operation
due to fundraising difficulties caused by covid-19, the charity’s manager says.**

Ruth Bruton, operations manager with the Irish Community Rapid Response Air Ambulance
Service (ICCR), told [the Irish Examiner](http://www.irishexaminer.com) that it 
had taken the decision to ground the service indefinitely from April 3rd with deep
regret.

She said restrictions on gatherings in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus
had led to “all fundraising avenues being extinguished”.

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Ms Bruton said that the service, which is staffed by National Ambulance Service (
NAS) personnel, had flown more than 350 missions since it began operations last 
September.

“We are very upset that lives will be lost due to the grounding of this service 
at this time, especially given how vital frontline medical support is during the
Covid-19 pandemic and how successful the service has been to date,” she said.

Ms Bruton said the service had already made cost-cutting measures including the 
laying off of non-essential staff, cutting staff hours and introducing a five-day
operational week to try to keep operating.

The Cork based service has previously said **each of its missions costs an average
of €3,500**. The NAS covers the wages of medical personnel as well as the cost of
medical equipment and medical consumables with the service covering the flight-related
costs.

The service sought interim support from the Government but said it was yet to receive
a reply from the authorities. The Irish Examiner reported that an agreement was 
reached between the NAS and the ICCR, that if the charity ran out of money, the 
Health Services Executive would not be liable.

They also reported that the charity claimed it had “wealthy benefactors”, capable
of funding the service should they find themselves in financial difficulty, and 
that this detail was an essential part of the NAS agreeing to provide the ICCR with
staff and equipment.

The HSE said a service-level agreement signed by both parties makes it clear that
in the event that charitable donations fall short of what is required, the HSE will
not be liable to maintain the service.

“Assurances were given that the charitable model was sustainable and that the ICRR
had a number of benefactors who would support the charity for the first few years
while the service evolved,” the HSE said.

When the air ambulance was launched last year the organisation said it would **need
to raise €2 million annually** from the public to remain operational.