The Vice Chairwoman of Bath & North East Somerset Council has made a special visit to the Great Western Air Ambulance base, learning more about what the charity does.
Councillor Gavin Heathcote and Councillor Karen Walker at the GWAAC base in Bristol
The charity, which is completely funded by donations, provides a critical care and air ambulance service across Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset, Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire and parts of Wiltshire.
Carrying out life-saving work, already this year they have conducted nearly 700 missions and treated over 100 critically ill members of the public.
Councillor Karen Walker, Vice-Chair of B&NES Council, said: “It was great to visit our local air ambulance’s base in Bristol last week.
“A huge thank you to them for all their dedication and hard work – they literally go out of their way to save lives.
“As a charity they rely hugely on donations from members of the public to keep them going, which makes what they do even more incredible! Our community will always be in debt to them.”
Visiting the Great Western Air Ambulance HQ with Councillor Walker was Councillor Gavin Heathcote, her fellow Peasedown St John Councillor.
He said: “This amazing charity provides the critical care and air ambulance service for 2.1 million people across our area.
“The team consists of highly trained and experienced critical care doctors, advanced practitioners and specialist paramedics in critical care, who bring the skill and expertise of a hospital emergency department to the patient.
“In 2023, the charity was called to help almost 2,000 people in urgent need. Our region and local communities simply would struggle without them.”
The Critical Care Team is needed by an average of five patients a day, and treats them by helicopter or critical care car. On average each mission costs around £2,000 to attend.
The charity needs to raise over £4 million a year in order to remain operational, yet receives no day-to-day funding from the Government or National Lottery.
The Vice-Chairwoman is currently on a six-month tour of community projects, as part of an initiative to support rural communities around the district.
