Our Impact in 2023 (part 2)
March 13, 2024
Swiftaid Update
April 24, 2024
Each year because of people like you:
We can respond to around 2,000 call-outs
(By air and road)
We can be there for five people a day on average
We can respond to more than 500 people suffering a cardiac arrest
We can respond to more than 350 road traffic collisions
“The speed at which everything happened from all the different points of care, is why I’m here today.”
We responded to around three quarters of incidents by road in 2023
Did you know?
Our critical care cars carry the same specialist lifesaving equipment as our helicopterTogether, we can make sure people like Josh get the critical care they need
Josh, a fit and healthy 34-year-old, suffered a severe brain haemorrhage at his gym in Bristol.
SPCC, Matt Robinson, and Critical Care Doctor, Glyn Thomas, rushed to him in one of our critical care cars. They found Josh being managed by an ambulance crew and two off-duty doctors. Matt said, “The priority was to secure his airway and rest his brain to minimise the impact of the injury.”
The crew anaesthetised and intubated Josh, prepared him for his journey to hospital and travelled with him in the ambulance to continue his specialist care.
Six months and several operations later, Josh is well-recovered and leading a normal life with a few adjustments.
Last year because of people like you:
10,429 people were taught basic life support skills
Public access defibrillators were placed in local communities
Patients were given emergency blood transfusions
161 patients were given a pre-hospital emergency anaesthetic
With your support, people like Forrest can survive and recover from a cardiac arrest
Forrest was doing a parkrun event in Cheltenham when he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Three NHS professionals were running behind and started CPR immediately. Luckily a fire engine with a defibrillator was parked nearby and Forrest received defibrillation within seven minutes.
Our crew reached Forrest quickly, put him in a medically induced coma to prevent further damage to his brain and took him to the Bristol Heart Institute. He immediately had four stents fitted.
Forrest can remember pulling on his trainers and starting the run but his next memory was waking from a coma two days later.
After a week in hospital, he was discharged. A few months later he was back doing parkrun events and is now volunteering for GWAAC in his spare time.
“It simply happened. One moment I was alive, the next dead, and then finally alive again.”
We were called to 503 people suffering a cardiac arrest in 2023
Did you know?
Our Great Western Hearts Programme gives communities the resources and knowledge to help save a lifeOur finances
Income in 2023
"Dr Matt gave me stronger painkillers and made me feel relaxed.”
We were called to 289 babies, children and teenagers in 2023
Did you know?
Our crew have the specialist knowledge, skills and equipment to help treat our smallest patientsYour support can be the reason children like Hamish can be given pain relief fast
Eight year old Hamish badly injured his arm when he jumped off a garden swing in Pill, North Somerset.
He needed the help of the GWAAC crew, who quickly took off in the helicopter and just minutes later landed in a nearby playing field. They assessed Hamish’s injuries, inserted a cannula into his vein and gave him morphine to reduce his pain.
Hamish was taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children in a land ambulance, where he had an operation to fix his broken arm.
Although Hamish had to learn a new technique for bowling in cricket, he is now back to his usual sporty self.
Together with your support, we can do so much more in 2024 and beyond.
Great Western Air Ambulance Charity provides the critical care and air ambulance service for 2.1 million people across Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, North Somerset and parts of Wiltshire.
Our vision is that everyone receives the lifesaving pre-hospital emergency care they need, wherever they are, whenever they need it.
With your support we can work together to save local lives well into the future. A heartfelt thank you from all of us.
Find out more about how you can get involved in volunteering, events and fundraising.
