Last year, because of people like you: Each year, because of people like you:
10,429 people were taught basic life support skills
52 public access defibrillators were placed in local communities
We can respond to around 2,000 call-outs (by air and road)
We can be there for five people a day on average
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.
50 patients were given emergency blood transfusions
161 patients were given a prehospital emergency anaesthetic
We can respond to more than 500 people suffering a cardiac arrest
We can respond to more than 350 road traffic collisions
Get involved
Visit our website to find out more about how you can get involved in volunteering, events and fundraising.
Contact us
0303 4444 999 info@gwaac.com www.gwaac.com
WITH YOUR SUPPORT
We can make a difference in our local communities
Registered charity number 1121300
YOUR CHARITY, SAVING LIVES TOGETHER
“The speed at which everything happened from all the different points of care, is why I’m here today.”
Together, 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.
DID YOU KNOW?
“It simply happened. One moment I was alive, the next dead, and then finally alive again.”
Forrest
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.
DID YOU KNOW?
Your 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.
OUR FINANCES
Thank you for your support. Without you, our crew would not be there.
We responded to around three quarters of incidents by road in 2023
Our critical care cars carry the same specialist lifesaving equipment as our helicopter We were called to 503 people suffering a cardiac arrest in 2023
Our income in 2023*
Total £5,375,692
Lottery £2,059,005
Other income £786,988
Legacies £684,967
Retail income £565,766
Community Fundraising £536,869
Grants £337,414
Individual donations £249,752
Corporate fundraising £96,948
Challenge events £57,983
“Dr Matt gave me stronger painkillers and made me feel relaxed.”
Hamish
Our spend in 2023*
Total £5,689,373
Helicopter costs £1,523,281
Clinical crew, cars and equipment £1,512,606
Non clinical staff £849,360
DID YOU KNOW?
Our Great Western Hearts Programme gives communities the resources and knowledge to help save a life
We were called to 289 babies, children and teenagers in 2023
Our crew have the specialist knowledge, skills and equipment to help treat our smallest patients
Lottery expenses £674,193
Premises and support costs £546,219
* Figures subject to audit
Retail costs £583,714
Josh