HEMS operator Wiltshire Air Ambulance carried out 1,104 missions last year, of which 653 were by helicopter, a Bell 429 GlobalRanger, and 451 were in its rapid response vehicle cars.

Chief executive David Philpott says: “The year 2021 was another milestone year for the charity as we launched a new three year strategy, saw our fundraising target rise to £4 million and we increased the number of shifts with pre-hospital consultants (doctors), further enhancing our clinical delivery. It was, of course, another very challenging 12 months for our staff operating on the front line, and I'm extremely proud of how everyone pulled together to ensure we continue to be there for the people of Wiltshire, Bath and surrounding areas.”

On 237 occasions the charity either airlifted or land assisted patients to hospitals in Bath and Swindon. There were 306 call outs to cardiac emergencies, around a third of all missions, 194 road traffic collisions attended plus 89 medical collapses, 71 sporting incidents and 47 assaults. A total of 73 incidents involved children, while around one in three missions took place at night.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance was also tasked to incidents in neighbouring counties, including Berkshire, Bristol, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Somerset, plus Wales. It is a charity and receives no regular direct funding from the UK government or National Lottery grants. Each year it needs to raise £4 million to continue flying and saving lives.