Earl and Countess of Wessex visit EHAAT

Dr Simon Walsh, Interim Medical Director for EEAST, was one of the guests to meet their Royal Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Wessex when they visited Essex & Herts Air Ambulance’s (EHAAT) North Weald airbase on Tuesday 1^st March 2022.

EHAAT is a local life-saving charity and works alongside the hospitals, emergency services and supporting organisations across the region. Today’s visit was an opportunity to bring everyone together at EHAAT’s new airbase at North Weald, enabling The Earl and Countess to say thank you to some of these organisations for their outstanding hard work during the pandemic.

On first arriving at North Weald, The Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire and Vice Lord Lieutenant of Essex greeted The Earl and Countess, and introduced them to Jane Gurney, CEO of EHAAT. Their Royal Highnesses then toured the new airbase, where they spent time with representatives from the local hospitals in the region and then spoke to air lifted patients and their families to hear first-hand about their experiences.

The highlight of the Royal visit took place at the front of the building where people had gathered representing the emergency services and voluntary support organisations, together with the members of the armed forces and many EHAAT charity staff and volunteers. The Earl and Countess took the opportunity to stop and speak to individuals and thank them for the work they do.

Dr Walsh, who attended the event representing both EEAST and the air ambulance trust said: “Their Royal Highnesses were both very interested to hear about the experiences of our patients and our collaborative working with partner organisations.”

Published 6th March 2022