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What we do

Working together to meet people's needs

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Since June 2008, a new shape can be seen in the skies above Bristol, Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset - the Great Western Air Ambulance.

Flying seven days a week, it's one of the busiest Air Ambulances in the UK - indeed, we expect to carry out more than 800 missions in the coming year.

We're one of only four Air Ambulances in the UK that works to an advanced medical model with a senior specialist doctor and a paramedic on board who are trained to critical care standard. This means we're more like a a flying hospital than a traditional air ambulance. We're able to carry the resources of an A&E department or intensive care unit direct to the scene of the incident, so a much-improved outcome is achieved for patients.

We are a charity in our own right, and we're funded entirely by public donations. The service needs to raise more than £1 million a year to keep flying.