Statistics released by the Wiltshire Air Ambulance charity revealed that it attended more than 80 incidents in the Bath area last year.
Photo © Wiltshire Air Ambulance
A total of 1,061 missions were undertaken by Wiltshire Air Ambulance in 2022.
The charity carried out its lifesaving work in Bath 167 times, attending 83 incidents in the city and its surrounding areas, as well as airlifting or escorting patients to the Royal United Hospital 84 times.
With its airbase in Semington near Trowbridge, Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s helicopter can fly to the centre of Bath within just four minutes. Subsequently, the charity is called to Bath more than any other air ambulance resource.
Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s director of income generation and communications Barbara Gray said: “We have a very dedicated aircrew – consisting of pilots, critical care paramedics and doctors – who respond to emergencies, on average, three times a day, 365 days a year.
“We know it is a really difficult time for the country right now, with fuel and energy bills rising, along with inflation, contributing to this current cost of living crisis.
“However, we remain ever grateful to our amazing donors and local businesses who continue to support us and help raise the £4 million it costs each year to keep our air ambulance flying and saving lives.”
Of the 1,061 missions in 2022, the charity’s helicopter was used for 670 (63%) of them, with the remaining 391 incidents attended by critical care cars.
A total of 263 patients were transferred to local hospitals, up from 237 in 2021, the majority of which to the Royal United Hospital, Bath (84), Southmead Hospital, Bristol (63) and Great Western Hospital, Swindon (44).
The largest number of call-outs were to cardiac emergencies (351), which equates to a third of all missions and a rise from 306 in 2021.
There were 174 road traffic collisions attended, plus 74 medical collapses, 51 sporting incidents and 44 assaults.
A total of 139 incidents involved children, while 31% of all missions (329) took place at night.
The largest number of incidents Wiltshire Air Ambulance responded to were in the Swindon area (173), followed by 83 in Bath and 69 in the city of Salisbury.
Wiltshire Air Ambulance is a charity and receives no regular direct funding from the Government or National Lottery grants. Each year the charity needs to raise £4 million to continue flying and saving lives.
