A crucial Norfolk charity which has saved countless lives in the last 50 years has warned its future is in doubt after the coronavirus pandemic has seen a drop in vital donations.
Volunteers with the Norfolk Accident Rescue Service are on call 24/7 to provide specialist critical care to those in need.
Now, the team of doctors, nurses, paramedics and first responders have issued a desperate plea for support to help them keep helping the people of Norfolk, with the pandemic meaning their usual fundraising activities were unable to take place.
In March, chairman and critical care paramedic Chris Neil said the charity’s donations had completely dried up, warning they only had enough money to run a skeleton team for less than six months.
After an initial surge, with £3,000 donated by the start of April, the charity reassured people they will continue to save lives, but emphasised the need for ongoing donations.
Volunteers continued to respond to calls despite the coronavirus outbreak.
The charity has now reiterated their plea, warning it could be “the difference between life and death.”
Steve Maddams, operational lead on the NARS executive committee and volunteer first responder, said: “We fully rely on donations and we were one of the first charities to say we would be gone in six months without more.
“It is the difference between life and death.
“We are in our 50th year and we have been helping to save lives and assist seriously ill people throughout that time.
“There are a lot of different levels to our team, with doctors and nurses to paramendics and first responders.
“Two years ago we started our first responders scheme where volunteers help provide crucial support in life threatening emergencies.”
Established in 1970, the charity is celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2020, and receives no government or health service funding.
Earlier this year, the charity revealed they had seen the busiest start to a year in their history, having taken 500 calls by early May - a 50pc increase on the same period in 2019.
To donate to NARS visit its at website: www.nars.org.uk/support-nars
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