The Ambulance Services Charity looking for supporters and champions in Wales
Much-needed advice and charitable support is now available to ambulance staff at the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust thanks to a new UK-wide charity.
TASC, The Ambulance Services Charity, was established in March as the leading UK charity to help provide vital advice and support services to both serving and retired ambulance personnel and their families and dependents in times of severe difficulty, bereavement and urgent need.
TASC Chief Executive Lorna Birse-Stewart and Chairman Cliff Randall visited the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust at Vantage Point House in Ty Coch Way, Cwmbran, Gwent, to meet the Chairman Mick Giannasi, Chief Executive Tracy Myhill and members of the executive management team.
Lorna said this latest meeting in their succession of visits to ambulance trusts across the UK was designed to raise awareness of their services and to identify regional champions and volunteers to help the charity.
“TASC has been set-up to highlight the much-needed advice and support which the charity aims to help provide for serving and retired ambulance staff and their families,” she said.
“The meeting with Mick, Tracy and the team gave Cliff and myself the chance to talk about the range of services we are working to help provide at TASC, ranging from support for ambulance staff who are coping with post-trauma stress or illness or major physical injuries suffered at work to those dealing with severe illness or bereavement.
“Our experiences show that people working in caring professions are often the last to ask for help despite needing help just like everyone else, but our confidential, independent Support Services team and Freephone support line is here to provide a link to a number of services including access to rehabilitation and mental health services, bereavement support and welfare and debt advice.”
TASC, which has its national Head Office in the Midlands, would also like people from all areas of the Welsh Ambulance Service to join as supporters of the charity by making a regular monthly donation through payroll or regular giving scheme and becoming volunteers or “Champions” for their area.
The charity is also asking for support from the general public in Wales by making donations and asking them to consider becoming part of the charity’s volunteer team and an Ambassador for the charity to help boost its profile and fundraising activities.
Lorna added: “We would love leading figures from business, sport and entertainment throughout Wales to get in touch to become our TASC regional champions and supporters.
“It is really important we make as many people as possible aware of the work we are doing and volunteer to help us raise vital funds so that we can help ambulance personnel who turn to the charity for help in times of crisis or difficulty.
“There is no other charity like ours specifically for UK ambulance personnel and their families and we would be grateful for the support anyone can give us when organising, holding or taking part in fundraising events.”
Tracy Myhill, Chief Executive of the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, said: “I witness the dedication and professionalism of our staff on a daily basis and I am genuinely humbled and privileged to be the Chief Executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service because of this.
“Our staff really are the lifeblood of this organisation. These are no ordinary jobs and these are certainly no ordinary people, which is why the work and services of TASC is so very important.
“We were pleased to meet with Lorna and Cliff to understand more about the work that needs to be done to raise TASC’s profile and the support we can provide in doing that to benefit our colleagues within the Trust.”
