The People’s Health Alliance yesterday launched a crisis fundraising appeal days after an ambulance service revealed it could no longer stop people dying from avoidable causes.

WATCH: HTL’s Roger Guttridge interviews PHA’s Katherine Macbean

Just a month after the official launch of PHA, West Midlands Ambulance Service announced in late May that by August it could be too busy to respond to 999 calls.

Mark Docherty, Director of Nursing and Clinical Commissioning at West Midlands Ambulance Service, said patients were already “dying every day” from avoidable causes created by ambulance delays.

Now PHA is launching its crisis Power of the Pound appeal to help local communities to fund emergency first aid training and equipment.

Its goal is to appeal to ONE MILLION supporters to each donate £1 per month.

PHA says its emergency appeal is vital if it is to try and stem the avalanche of deaths that will result if ambulance services break down.

The bold plan will enable one million people to play a small part in funding emergency back-up when ambulance services fail to respond.

Created in February and officially launched a month ago, PHA has already helped communities across the UK to form more than 60 local health hubs.

Its goal is to bring together conventional and alternative health practitioners and empower people in local communities to take charge of their own health. 

However, its plan to focus on primary care has been reworked to include its emergency Power of the Pound appeal following news that 999 calls could soon go unanswered.

PHA’s Katherine Macbean says: “This has been described in recent days as a ‘Titanic moment’ and, although our initial plans did not include support of emergency care so soon, we have no choice but to respond immediately to this cataclysmic threat to life.

“People are already dying because of ambulance delays. Just imagine how bad things will get if ambulance services stop answering 999 calls altogether. This is a crisis that could impact any of us at any moment. We cannot stand by and do nothing.”

The answer, says PHA, is its Power of the Pound appeal, which will enable everyone to play a small part in attempting to prevent huge numbers of needless deaths.

“We understand the enormity of the goal we have set,” says Katherine. “How many millions does this message need to reach for one million people to donate £1 per month?

“We also understand the economic pressures that many of us face. The point is that £1 is affordable for almost everybody and there isn’t any time to lose. We are in an emergency and one of those unanswered 999 calls this summer could be for us or for somebody we love.

“We need to join together to take action and we need to do it now.”

PHA has pledged to be fully publicly accountable and transparent when it comes to allocation of all funds. Its Power of the Pound appeal is one its most ambitious projects to date and, as part of the campaign, PHA is also urgently appealing for trained first aiders and for medical equipment suppliers to step forward and help. 

“If a million of us each contributes the price of a can of baked beans each month, we will be in a position to take emergency action,” says Katherine.

“It is down to the People now and we can do this if each of us simply contributes £1.

“We cannot leave it to others to solve this crisis,” she says. “We should all know by now that this isn’t going to happen. So, what have we got to lose by responding to this appeal? More importantly, what have we got to lose if we don’t?”

Please donate now by clicking the link http://www.the-pha.org

WATCH: HTL’s Roger Guttridge interviews PHA’s Katherine Macbean