Our standard crew consists of a Pilot, a Specialist Paramedic in Critical Care (SPCC) and a Critical Care Doctor. A trainee doctor or paramedic often accompanies the crew in the fourth seat in the helicopter.

Our Specialist Paramedics and Critical Care Doctors are highly trained in pre-hospital emergency medicine and bring the skills and equipment of a hospital direct to the patient in need. They can perform lifesaving surgical interventions, usually only done in an operating theatre, at the scene of an incident. Read more on what our crew do on scene here.

Our crew take the patient to the hospital best suited to their needs, which isn’t necessarily the closest one. We are lucky within our region to have many specialist hospitals, such as Southmead Hospital, which is a Major Trauma Centre, and the Bristol Royal Infirmary, which includes the Bristol Heart Institute and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. These are the most frequent hospitals we transfer patients to as they offer the specialist care that our patients need. For example, if we attend to a patient in Bath, we usually transport them to one of the above hospitals rather than taking them to the local Royal United Hospital as they will need a major trauma centre, specialist cardiology or paediatric treatment.

Our crew carry the same specialist equipment usually found in a hospital, such as ventilators and kit for emergency procedures such as blood transfusions, anaesthetics or even emergency surgery. Most of the equipment they carry is not found on a land ambulance, as the crew need to be specially trained in critical care to use it. They also carry advanced drugs, such as advanced pain relief, which is not carried on a land ambulance. The kit we carry is all funded by charitable donations.

Our team are dispatched by a dedicated Helicopter Emergency Medical Services and Critical Care team based in the 999 ambulance call centre in Exeter. They listen in to 999 calls and dispatch our crew to those who need specialist attention. Often our crew are also called upon by land ambulance crews who have arrived on scene and need their advanced skills to care for a patient.  

Find out what happens when you dial 999 and need an air ambulance here.  

We operate three critical care cars that allow us to offer a more resilient service and reach more patients in need. Our late team respond from a car from 13:00pm to 01:00am and our day team will respond by car in instances where the weather prevents them flying, or the area of the incident has very restricted and limited landing sites.  

Our Critical Care Doctors are Consultants in regional hospitals across a range of specialities, including anaesthetics, emergency medicine, intensive care, cardiology, and paediatrics. They are required to undergo up to two years of Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine training with GWAAC in order to become Critical Care Doctors.  

Our Specialist Paramedics in Critical Care (SPCC) have all gained significant experience in the ambulance service before undergoing a rigorous selection process to join our team, where they begin their two years of training to become a qualified SPCC. Read more on the selection process and assessment day here.

Our Pilots must have a minimum of 2,000 hours flying experience, hold a Commercial or Air Transport Pilot’s Licence (Helicopter), an Instrument Rating, Class 1 Medical, EC135 type rating and be specifically trained and checked for Helicopter Emergency Medical Service operations. Our Pilots are all employed by Babcock Aviation Services, which is where we lease our helicopter from as well.