Air ambulance reports record callouts as demand spikes

The charity's boss said he was sad to see demand rise

Demand for a life-saving air ambulance has risen significantly during a record year for callouts, charity bosses have said.

Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance answered 1,343 calls, at an average of four a day, in 2024 - a 15% increase on the previous year.

Swindon, Chippenham and Trowbridge were amongst the most common incident locations and they responded to more than 100 calls in Bath for the first time.

David Philpott, the charity's chief executive, said he was "sad to report" that demand had risen "significantly".

David Philpott said aircrews responded to over 100 calls in Bath for the first time

"None of this vital work would be possible without the incredible generosity of the public and local businesses, and we are extremely grateful for their ongoing commitment and support," he said.

In late 2024, the charity rebranded to include Bath in its name to better reflect its operational area.

"For the first time, we attended over 100 missions in Bath in a single calendar year. This represents around 9% of all 2024 missions and once again demonstrates the importance of our work to the city," he said.

More doctors on call outs

Since the rise, the charity has also increased the amount of doctors attending callouts.

"It means that stronger drugs can be administered, it means that if someone needs an emergency blood transfusion we can give it.

"In 2023, 33% of our admissions had a doctor involved, so a third of our admissions, but last year it was 51%.

"On every other flight now we have a highly trained doctor working with our paramedics," he added.

The charity said last year its crews were also tasked to incidents outside their main area, including Bristol, Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wales.