Record Breaker SPCC James
November 6, 2025
How we help children
November 12, 2025
When people think of air ambulances, they often picture adults being helped in an emergency. But the truth is: we’re called to a child almost every day. And every one of those calls is a race against time.
Imagine this: it’s a normal winter day. A child is badly hurt playing on a slippery, muddy field — maybe at their regular Sunday football match. Or a collision on a rain-slicked road during the school commute leaves a family in shock, with a child needing help fast. Or maybe an unexpected illness turns a quiet evening at home into chaos.
No matter what the emergency, within minutes our crew is in the air or on the road, bringing advanced lifesaving care straight to the child, wherever they are.
Myth-busting: Yes, we help children
There’s a common misconception that air ambulances only respond to adults. The reality is very different.
This year, our crew has responded to 284 calls for children between January and October — almost one child every day, or more than six each week.
Every call is different, from accidents on the road, to sudden medical emergencies at home, but the need is the same: fast, expert help that can make the difference between life and death.
Where we’ve helped children this year
Each number on this map represents the missions where our crew responded to children in urgent need across our region. From busy towns to quiet rural villages, we reach children wherever they are — quickly, with the right people and the right equipment on board.
Every call-out is different. Every child is special, and every mission counts. This is just a snapshot of where we’ve been this year to help children in urgent need.
What makes us different
You may have heard of the National Children’s Air Ambulance — a national service that flies critically ill babies and children between hospitals across England, Scotland and Wales so they can receive specialist treatment. When a child is too sick to travel, they can also fly medical teams and bespoke equipment directly to them, turning their local hospital into a specialist centre.
Our role is very different
We’re there in the moments no one can plan for — when a child suddenly becomes critically ill or is seriously injured. We provide emergency, on-scene care to children whose condition is so serious that they need the specialist skills of our team right there, at the scene of the incident.
We’re part of the regional 999 response system and work closely with NHS hospitals, but we’re a charity funded by local people, just like you.
Every time our helicopter lifts off, it’s thanks to your support that we can reach a child in need across Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, North Somerset and parts of Wiltshire.
We’re here for our local community, helping children and families across the region when they need us most.
Every call counts — and you can help
Being ready to help children in emergencies requires training, the right skills and the right equipment, and takes the support of people like you.
Over the coming months, we’ll be called to a child almost every day — sometimes more than once a day — sometimes at dawn, sometimes past midnight. Our earliest this year came at 7am, our latest just before 1am, both on Sundays at family homes. It’s proof that emergencies can happen anytime — and your support keeps us ready to respond whenever they do.
That child could be anyone’s. That life could be saved because you chose to keep us flying.
Image taken from simulation
Image taken from simulation
