Air ambulance volunteers claim 'donated money is wasted on high salaries'
Air ambulance volunteers are planning to leave the charity, claiming that publicly-donated money is being "wasted" on high salaries.
Fund-raisers at Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance spoke out after learning that more than £1.2million raised last year was spent on wages and marketing.
-
Air ambulance personnel seen at work, transferring a patient to hospital
In protest, volunteers at the charity's headquarters, in Derby, say they will go when their contracts expire.
They have also complained to regulatory body, the Charity Commission.
But managers say they have introduced a "more commercial mindset" which turned a £400,000 deficit into a fund-raising drive which brought in £5million in the past year.
One volunteer, who did not want to be named, said: "The volunteers are furious that so much money is being taken out of people's donations and is used to fund their ridiculously high wages."
The service relies on public donations for 95% of its running costs, with the rest coming from sales of merchandise.
According to the charity's 2008 annual report, chief executive Andy Williamson was paid between £110,000 and £120,000 a year.
He also took a £10,000 loan from the charity as a "relocation expense" which the charity said "was standard practice for head-hunted executives".
A former member of staff, who did not wish to be named, said: "The fact that Andy Williamson took out a £10,000 loan from a charity is, I believe, ridiculous, considering the huge amount of money he is being paid."
The charity said two fund-raisers lost their jobs in February, as new roles for marketing, and PR were created, because it wanted to find different ways of collecting money.
Mr Williamson said: "Those attacking the charity are bereft of facts and it is sad that, in some cases, a negative slant has been put on the hard work and progress that has been made over the past few years and future strategy.
"Some would prefer that we simply coasted along and remain a small charity. I don't, as I think we have lots more to offer."
There are nine full-time and four part-time members of staff at the centre in Derby, plus 140 volunteers.
Campaigners claim that six volunteers are planning to walk out and that many more will follow.
According to last year's annual figures £578,820 was spent on wages and £789,300 on PR and marketing. Last year, 74% of the public donations, £3,893,880, went towards operational costs.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said concerns had been raised about the financial and general governance of the air ambulance, adding: "We are currently considering these to determine which may fall within our remit. We will be contacting the charity for further information."
The average cost of each mission is about £4,000. Crews carried out more than 1,600 rescues between April 2008, when the charity started, and December 2009.
7 Comments
View all
by Jon, leics
Monday, March 08 2010, 2:23PM
“Well I think that 74 pence from every pound donated is well above what the majority of charities get "to the front line" lets not forget that putting the donations to the use of the helicopter is the main aim of the charity and don't let this claim stop people donating to the cause.”
by Ken, Cheltenham
Monday, March 08 2010, 1:37PM
“If these helicopters were only sent out to cases that would benefit from the skills on board and not to all and sundry, the total cost required would drop significantly. ( I am ex ambulance service so have seen the blatant over-use),”
by Ex-volunteer, Leicestershire
Monday, March 08 2010, 1:35PM
“I used to volunteer for the DLRAA and what a pleasure it was. My contact, a paid fundraiser, was the most loyal, committed, hardworking person I have ever met. She treated me with the greatest respect, appreciated everything I tried to do and never made me feel like a 'skivvy'. And what have the current Management at the Charity done? Made her redundant. Well, I can assure you, I'm out of this set up until a decent Management can be put in place. What a farce! They take high wages, are recruiting more high earners in roles that are doomed to fail, and yet make the successful staff, who have been with the Charity since the beginning either redundant or demoted! It makes you lose heart. I hope the Charity Commission exposes these Managers for the crooks they quite blatantly are. Long live the DLRAA with the staff who made it a success”
by Very Sad Person, Leicestershire
Monday, March 08 2010, 1:27PM
“What a sad state of affairs. Our Air Ambulance Service is so needed and has been so successful. Why do these so called Executives feel the need to 'fix' what truly isn't 'broken'. The fundraisers in our communities have done a fabulous job, not only ensuring that the funds come in but also happily being available to give talks, answer our queries and be ever present in our community. Don't you just hate it when these overpaid Executives sit behind a desk and decide what is good for us? And as for the salaries they take, well this is just taking the mickey. Without them the service would surely survive with the committed and loyal staff they had before. We don't need to give our hard earned cash to fund the over inflated egos of so called Executives and Managers. The service did just fine without them and at least we all knew where our money was going - to help save lives - not make sure these horrid people had a nice, comfortable lifestyle. Get rid of the lot of them. I'm writing to the Charity Commission to make sure that these evil people get their come-uppance. Well done Crew and Fundraisers - keep up the good work - the public are behind you.”
by Anne Bond, Oadby,Leics
Monday, March 08 2010, 1:26PM
“As a Volunteer for nigh on six years ,I have followed the ups and downs of this much needed service!!(we rely on the public for donations ,as the Lottery nor the Govt put into it)
Going back to 2007 we nearly lost the Air Ambulance and due to massive public support in Leics we got over 10,000 sigs
and managed to get WNAA (Air Amb)to become our provider.
As certain members of staff work as part of WNAA and DLRAA, we need to look at the bigger picture (it may not be ideal but until the Charity commission has looked into this I hope everyone will continue to support this much needed Charity)
Obviously we need the best to run our Charity,lets hope that we continue to florish!!”