This summer is set to be our busiest ever. With more people in need of lifesaving care, you can help us get there.
For our Critical Care Team, every day is different.
At any moment, we can receive a call – someone needs our help, and urgently.
We can never predict where we’ll be called to next. Our region covers more than 1,700 square miles, with a population of over 2.1 million people – any one of whom could be our next patient.
Every incident is different too. We could be going to the scene of a crime, our patient could be a baby or child, or there may be multiple casualties to attend to.
Whatever the circumstances, and whatever the location, our focus is on delivering the best possible outcome. Looking for a suitable landing site, planning the treatment of our patient, and adapting to complex and changing situations – we have to be ready for anything. And in those moments, we depend on our training and experience to make critical choices.
We are here to respond to the most severe 999 calls - bringing the skills, equipment and experience of a hospital Emergency Department to every patient. But it all means nothing if we can't get there.
The summer months are our busiest every year. And as a charity, we rely on the generosity of our supporters to continue delivering our lifesaving service. Right now, we need your help more than ever.
We are calling on your support today. With you behind us, we can be ready to answer the next call. Will you make a donation, and help us get there this summer?
This summer, we will respond to a call every three hours. We need your support more than ever, to help us get there.
Each day, throughout the year, we are called to more than five patients on average. During summer that number grows and, on our busiest days, we could be called to more than a dozen incidents.
The longer daylight hours and warmer weather during summer mean children play outdoors, families travel further around the country, and people go on bigger adventures in more extreme locations. It’s no surprise that more people find themselves in trouble – and in the worst cases, this can mean a critical injury or incident. This is where the speed and expertise of an air ambulance crew make a real difference, so it’s vital that we’re able to reach people when they need us the most.
Patients like Sallyanne, who suffered severe injuries after falling from her horse. The skills and equipment of our crew meant we were able to administer strong pain relief and take control of Sallyanne’s injuries before airlifting her to Southmead Hospital, the nearest Major Trauma Centre.
We want to be there for everyone who needs us, and it's often the simplest of things that makes that possible. Things like having fuel in the helicopter.
The cost of fuel has been steadily rising this year and, last month alone, the price of helicopter fuel rose by more than a third. As a result, our annual helicopter fuel cost has increased by £20,000. This is going to have a significant and lasting impact on the funds we need to raise, just as we enter our busiest time of the year. That's why we need your help today.
A donation from you today means we can get there this summer. Your support will take care of the basics, like fuel, so that we can focus on saving the next life.
I absolutely believe that if GWAAC hadn’t been there that day, the outcome for me would have been a lot worse - I will always think of them as knights in shining armour. I’d encourage anyone to donate to keep them flying, as you never know when you or someone you know will need them.