The Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) yesterday welcomed Robert Bertram, Chief Executive of the HELP (Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads) Appeal, to their air base.
During the visit, he met with representatives from GWAAC to find out more about their new air base, which is currently under construction in Almondsbury.
The HELP Appeal is the only charity in the country that funds the development of helipads at Major Trauma Centres, key A&E hospitals and air ambulance bases.
They have donated £300,000 to fund the helipad at GWAAC’s new air base in Almondsbury, a significant contribution to the charity which will enable them to continue providing their life-saving service.
Robert Bertram Chief Executive of the HELP Appeal explained: “The HELP Appeal is best known for funding hospital helipads. But this isn’t all we do to help air ambulances save the time it takes to get a critically ill patient to hospital.
“By funding the new helipad at the GWAAC base, we are helping to reduce the time it takes for its pilots and paramedics to take off and transfer a patient to hospital for the CT scans, blood transfusions or emergency surgery that could help to save his or her life.”
GWAAC provide the Critical Care and air ambulance service for 2.1 million people across the counties of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, North Somerset and surrounding areas.
Their current air base in Filton is one of the oldest in the country, and is no longer meeting the needs of the increasingly busy service.
Their landlords are building a new air base to house the service, along with the National Police Aviation Service (NPAS) in Almondsbury.
In an exciting move, GWAAC has been given the opportunity to purchase the new air base once it’s completed thus providing the charity with stability for the foreseeable future. GWAAC need to raise £1.25 million to buy the base.
Anna Perry, Chief Executive of Great Western Air Ambulance Charity said: “This donation is incredibly generous and we are so very grateful. It has been nice to meet Robert and explain our plans for our new base and exactly where this money will go.
“The helipad is of course extremely important, and we are so lucky and grateful that the HELP Appeal exists and has chosen to help us, as well as many other charities and hospitals across the country. Simply put, this donation and the new helipad will save lives.”
The new air base and the helipad will help to enhance response times for the GWAAC helicopter and Critical Care Cars. You can find out more about the Buy our Base appeal at: www.buyourbase.co.uk
