GREAT Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) was called to around five patients a day on average across 2020, despite the national lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions throughout much of the year.

There were 1,726 call-outs for the Critical Care Team to attend to patients in urgent need across Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire and the surrounding areas.

Fifty-five per cent of call-outs were trauma-related, including more than 300 road traffic collisions.

However, the most common incident was people suffering life-threatening cardiac arrests, with more than 500 patients experiencing this medical emergency.

The lifesaving crew were called out over 200 times to North Somerset alone, averaging around four patients a week in the county requiring urgent medical care before they reached hospital.

The local charity’s emergency response team took extra precautions and donned PPE in order to continue providing their vital service, while also stepping up to support NHS colleagues on the frontline during the first lockdown in April and May.

Team members assisted with intensive care inter-hospital transfers, helping another 34 critically ill patients, in order to help relieve the pressure on local healthcare services.

Despite this, GWAAC receives no day-to-day funding from either the NHS or the government, and relies on charitable donations to raise more than £4 million a year to remain operational and continue saving local lives.

Covid-19 has put a stop to many of the charity’s usual fundraising activities, and 2021 looks to be even more challenging, with the charity seeking out other ways of reaching its fundraising needs.

For more information about GWAAC or supporting its work in your local area, you can visit its website here.