Staff and volunteers at the Great Western Air Ambulance received a special visit from the vice-chairwoman of Bath & North East Somerset Council at their base in Bristol.

The charity, which is completely funded by donations, provides critical care and air ambulance service across Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset, Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire and parts of Wiltshire.

Carrying out life-saving work, already this year they have conducted almost 700 missions and treated over 100 critically ill members of the public.

Cllr Karen Walker said: “It was great to visit our local air ambulance's base in Bristol last week.

“A huge thank you to them for all their dedication and hard work - they go out of their way to save lives.

“As a charity, they rely hugely on donations from members of the public to keep them going, which makes what they do even more incredible! Our community will always be in debt to them.”

Accompanying her on the visit to the Great Western Air Ambulance HQ was Cllr Gavin Heathcote, her fellow Peasedown St John councillor. He said: “This amazing charity provides the critical care and air ambulance service for 2.1 million people across our area.

“The team consists of highly trained and experienced critical care doctors, advanced practitioners and specialist paramedics in critical care, who bring the skill and expertise of a hospital emergency department to the patient.

“In 2023, the charity was called to help almost 2,000 people in urgent need. Our region and local communities simply would struggle without them.”

The Critical Care Team is needed by an average of five patients a day and rushes to treat them by helicopter or critical care car. On average each mission costs around £2,000 to attend.

The charity needs to raise over £4million a year to remain operational yet receives no day-to-day funding from the Government or the National Lottery.

For more information about Great Western Air Ambulance Charity and to donate to support their work please visit: www.greatwesternairambulance.com

Cllr Karen Walker is currently on a six-month tour of community projects as part of an initiative to support rural communities around the local authority.

Are you part of a local business, community group or charity and would like the vice-chairwoman of B&NES Council to visit your organisation? If so, contact Cllr Karen Walker at [email protected]