The air ambulance industry has reeled under increased costs and a narrower customer base since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These facts have put a lot of pressure on the air ambulance companies that were already burdened under huge costs associated with keeping their organizations afloat. In the United States, there has been stiff resistance to high costs of medical flight services – often a burden to the common people as a result of insurance companies refusing to foot the bill. Elsewhere in the world too, things are not all that great. Countries like the United Kingdom are now feeling the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Condition of the UK Air Ambulance Industry
In the United Kingdom, much of the funding comes from the general public. With the COVID-19 cases on the rise again after the initial remission, fund-raising activities have been hard to conduct. In this context, it must be noted that most of the air ambulance organizations in the country offer their services at reduced or zero charges. Government funding only partially takes care of the financial needs of these charities. The rest of the money comes from local communities. Currently, the impact of the pandemic is so severe that even the most popular air ambulance charities are finding it hard to stay afloat. For instance, Yorkshire Air Ambulance recently revealed that they are at a deficit of 1 million British Pounds due to the pandemic.
The Industry Needs Attention
The world seems to have forgotten that air ambulance services are the only recourse in many situations. For instance, rural America depends on them heavily due to the lack of good medical facilities close by. Then, there are emergencies like heart strokes, injuries in remote areas, and accidents amid heavy traffic. Medical flights are known to be quite effective in scenarios like these. Unless the industry receives adequate financial support, many organizations will have to soon shut down.
