Clive Buckland

Clive shared his personal connection with Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA), explaining that he moved to Scotland in 1973 and later became involved with the charity as a volunteer. His involvement was motivated in part by a personal experience in which a friend’s life was saved by the air ambulance following a plane crash. Clive explained that this experience gave him a particular appreciation of the vital role SCAA plays in providing rapid emergency medical assistance across Scotland.

Clive described the service through a number of real-life examples, including the case of Paul, a motorcyclist from Aberdeen who was seriously injured in an accident near Ballater. SCAA transported Paul by helicopter to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in around 15 minutes, compared with approximately 40 minutes by road ambulance. Clive highlight-ed how this reduction in travelling time can be critical when dealing with life-threatening injuries.

SCAA operates alongside the wider network of 21 charity air ambulance services across the UK. In Scotland, the service operates two helicopters, based in Aberdeen and Perth, supported by two pilots and six paramedics at each base. The medical crews are NHS paramedics seconded to SCAA who receive additional specialist training, with SCAA covering their wages and training costs. The charity also operates two BMW rapid-response vehicles and leases its helicopters and pilots from Babcock, while covering the associated medical equipment and operational costs.

Clive explained the differences between the two helicopter models used by the service. The larger H145 can accommodate additional personnel and medical equipment, while both helicopters are equipped with night-vision systems, allowing the service to extend its operating capability into the hours of darkness. The helicopters carry a wide range of specialist medical equipment, including CPR machines and maternity kits, and are configured to allow patients to be safely loaded and treated during transport. He also explained that the Perth helicopter has a fuel endurance of ap-proximately one hour and forty minutes, which can be an important consideration when planning longer missions.

A number of rescue missions illustrated the range of situations in which SCAA can be called upon. Clive described incidents involving serious hill-walking accidents and a child who had a coin lodged in their throat, demonstrating how the service can provide specialist medical intervention and dramatically reduce the time taken to reach hospital compared with conventional road transport.

Clive also outlined the scale of the service's work, noting that SCAA has undertaken 7,763 callouts since 2013. He highlighted the increasing financial pressures facing the organisation, with the annual funding requirement projected to rise from around £10 million currently to ap-proximately £15 million by 2030.

Throughout his presentation, Clive emphasised the importance of SCAA’s ability to bring specialist medical care directly to patients and rapidly transport them to appropriate hospital care. His personal experiences and examples from the service demonstrated the potentially life-saving difference that this rapid response can make, while also highlighting the significant financial commitment required to maintain and develop the service.