Founded | January 2000 |
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Type | Registered charity No. 10786857 |
Focus | Air ambulance |
Location |
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Coordinates | 50°59′15″N2°21′17″W / 50.9876°N 2.3547°W |
Area served | |
Revenue (2024) | £9.4 million [1] |
Employees (2024) | 24 |
Volunteers (2024) | 101 |
Website | www |
The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is a registered charity, which uses a helicopter to provide an air ambulance service to the English counties of Dorset and Somerset. The air ambulance came into service in March 2000, following the success of similar schemes, such as Devon Air Ambulance and Cornwall Air Ambulance. The air ambulance headquarters are at Wellington in Somerset, but the helicopter is based at Henstridge Airfield in Somerset.
The service operates an AgustaWestland AW169 helicopter, callsign Helimed 10, which has been in service since June 2017. [2] Travelling at speeds of up to 165 knots (190 mph; 306 km/h), it can land in an area half the size of a tennis court and can reach anywhere in the two counties within twenty minutes of an emergency call. [3] It is crewed by two pilots, a paramedic and a critical care doctor and can carry two patients on stretchers. The pilots and maintenance staff are employed by Gama Aviation, the company which leases the helicopter to the air ambulance service. [4] The paramedics are employed by South Western Ambulance Service (SWASFT), although a number of these are paid for by the charity, [4] while critical care doctors are seconded from local NHS hospital trusts.
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance provides life-saving, pre-hospital critical care, to patients in need. We are your local air ambulance charity, a vital part of the community and we rely on your support. They operate 19 hours a day (7.00am – 2.00am) providing a critical care service, using their helicopter and critical care car.
In the year ending March 2024, the charity was called to 2,909 missions. 1,397 of these were using our AW169 helicopter and critical care car and 1,512 were using our outreach cars to provide enhanced care. [5]
In the year ending March 2019, the charity was requested by SWASFT to attend 1,118 incidents by helicopter and 276 incidents by road. [4]
In May 2011, the charity flew its 8,000th mission, [6] [7] and by 2015 had flown a total of 10,700. [8] Typical incidents for which the assistance of the air ambulance is requested by SWASFT, include road traffic collisions, medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest, agricultural and horse riding accidents, due to the remote locations and the severity of injuries involved in such incidents.
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is tasked by a dedicated Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) desk, located at the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust clinical hub in Exeter.
Paid for by the five air ambulance charities it serves Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, Devon Air Ambulance, Cornwall Air Ambulance, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity and Wiltshire Air Ambulance. The HEMS desk is staffed by specific dispatchers who understand the capabilities of air ambulances and the regulations that govern the deployment. These individuals play a crucial role in deciding where and when the helicopter is deployed. They can also call on support from the Coastguard, Police and Search and Rescue should the need arise.
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance also provide an enhanced care service across Dorset and Somerset using outreach cars. The critical care and outreach cars are Skoda Kodiaqs which have been converted by South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASfT) to ensure they meet all the standards and regulations of their existing fleet of rapid response vehicles.
They are equipped with the same high standards and base level of equipment that you would find on a land ambulance including: oxygen, response bags, paediatric, burns and asthma kits, defibrillator, major incident triage packs and traction splints.
The vehicles enhance their service by enabling them to respond to incidents when elements restrict the helicopter flying and to provide an additional enhanced care service in Dorset and Somerset. They also give the charity additional resources to despatch, in the need of a medical emergency which requires both the helicopter and a land vehicle.
The service they provide is 95% funded by charitable giving. In 2023, the air ambulance service was tasked to 2,424 incidents; with each mission costing approximately £3,500. [9] Together, with your support, we can be there for patients today, tomorrow and in the future.
In the year ending March 2024, the charity's income was £9.4 million and expenditure was £9.8M, of which it spent £8.6M operating its helicopter and rapid response vehicle. [1] This money has to be raised largely from charitable donations. The charity is supported by volunteers spread across the two counties who work to raise funds to ensure that this service continues. It also runs a weekly lottery, which in 2019 accounted for 48% of the charity's income. [4] In 2024, the charity had 24 employees, of which three were paid between £60,000 and £110,000 a year. [1]
In 2019, the charity's patron, Somerset racing driver Jenson Button, wrote the foreword to Haynes Publishing Group's new publication Air Ambulance Operations Manual. [10] The book, written in the style of traditional Haynes Manuals, features cutaway diagrams of the charity's AW169 helicopter. The publisher is making a donation of £0.75 from the sale of every copy to benefit air ambulance charities across the United Kingdom. [11]
London's Air Ambulance Charity is a registered charity that operates a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) dedicated to responding to serious trauma emergencies in and around London. Using a helicopter from 08:00 to sunset and rapid response vehicles by night, the service performs advanced medical interventions at the scene of the incident in life-threatening, time-critical situations.
The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) is an NHS trust responsible for operating ambulances and answering and responding to urgent and emergency medical situations within the London region of England. The service responds to 999 phone calls across the region, and 111 phone calls from certain parts, providing triage and advice to enable an appropriate level of response.
The Scottish Ambulance Service is part of NHS Scotland, which serves all of Scotland's population. The Scottish Ambulance Service is governed by a special health board and is funded directly by the Health and Social Care Directorates of the Scottish Government.
The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is the organisation responsible for providing ambulance services for the National Health Service (NHS) across South West England. It serves the council areas of Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Plymouth, Isles of Scilly, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Torbay and Wiltshire.
The Devon Air Ambulance Trust (DAAT) is a charity providing emergency medical services through the provision of two helicopter-based air ambulances and two critical care cars, which cover the county of Devon in South West England. The helicopters and cars are owned and operated by the charity, which raises money from public donations and its charity shops.
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is an NHS trust responsible for providing National Health Service (NHS) ambulance services in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, in the East of England region. These consist of approximately 6.2 million people across an area of 7,500 square miles (19,000 km2).
The West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMAS UNHSFT) is responsible for providing NHS ambulance services within the West Midlands region of England. It is one of ten ambulance trusts providing England with emergency medical services, and is part of the National Health Service.
The Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust is a charity that provides a dedicated helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The service operates a Leonardo AW169 helicopter and two critical care cars that are utilised when the helicopter is unable to fly. Together they attend about 1,100 incidents per year. As of December 2018, the helicopter service had flown over 28,000 missions since 1987.
Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom provide emergency care to people with acute illness or injury and are predominantly provided free at the point of use by the four National Health Services (NHS) of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Emergency care including ambulance and emergency department treatment is only free to UK residents and a charge may be made to those not entitled to free NHS care.
Air ambulance services in the United Kingdom provide emergency medical functions, patient transport between specialist centres, or medical repatriation. Services are provided by a mixture of organisations, operating either helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft. All emergency air ambulance helicopters in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are operated by charities, while Scotland has one charity service in addition to its two NHS-funded helicopters. Fixed-wing air ambulances, used for patient transport, may be government or privately operated. Air ambulance helicopters are complemented by Coastguard SAR helicopters.
The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is an air ambulance providing Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) across the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. The appeal to fund the service was launched in the summer of 2000 by top jockey Frankie Dettori, who had been injured in a serious plane crash in June of that year. When flying commenced in January 2001, the service was initially available only one day a week. The East Anglian Air Ambulance operates two helicopters, 365 days a year, from its bases at Cambridge Airport and Norwich Airport, covering over 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2) and a population of approximately 3.5 million.
Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) is an organisation providing emergency medical services through the provision of a helicopter air ambulance covering the four English counties of Kent, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex, which are served by the South East Coast Ambulance Service. The service is funded by the Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex which is a registered charity, raising money from public and private donations in excess of £15 million every year. The charity's aircraft are based and maintained at Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey. Its headquarters and forward operating base are at Rochester Airport in Kent.
North West Air Ambulance is the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) that covers the North West England region, consisting of the counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
The Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance is an air ambulance based across the A15 from RAF Waddington on HEMs Way. The Air Ambulance covers the administrative counties of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire and the unitary authorities of Nottingham, North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire, England. The Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust is a registered charity that receives no government or NHS funding for its daily missions.
The Children's Air Ambulance (TCAA) is a charity-funded air ambulance service that transfers critically ill children from local hospitals to specialist paediatric centres throughout Great Britain. It also moves specialist teams and equipment to local hospitals when a child is too sick to travel. The service also sometimes acts as a patient transport service, returning children and families home after treatment. It was founded in 2005, and has been operated by The Air Ambulance Service charity since 2011. More than 400 missions have been performed since the service began. The number of missions is anticipated to rise to more than 600 per year with the launch of the new helicopters.
Magpas Air Ambulance is a registered charity that operates a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) in the East of England.
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT) is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas.
The Wales Air Ambulance Charitable Trust, known as Wales Air Ambulance Charity (WAAC) or, is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life-saving helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured in Wales. It is an independent charity that relies on charitable donations to supply and maintain a fleet of emergency aircraft and rapid response vehicles.
The Air Ambulance Service (TAAS) is a registered charity that operates three emergency air ambulance services in the United Kingdom; the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA), the Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA), and the Children's Air Ambulance (TCAA).
The Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) is a charity air ambulance service in South West England. It operates for the relief of sickness and injury, with a specialist paramedic in critical care and a critical care doctor, providing response by helicopter or car between the hours of 7:00 am and 1:00 am, 365 days a year. The service covers Bristol, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, and surrounding areas.