Wiltshire Air Ambulance costs rise to £4.5m

Wiltshire Air Ambulance attended 1,167 incidents in 2023

An air ambulance charity says it needs to raise more than £12,000 a day in order to fund its "essential" service.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance said costs have increased by 11% to a total of £4.5m a year.

It has been prompted by the cost-of-living crisis, additional staff training and fuel and utility bills.

David Philpott, the charity's CEO, said: "There are no shortcuts when it comes to providing frontline, pre-hospital clinical care."

He added: "Everything that we do costs money because it has to be done properly and safely and in line with the Care Quality Commission and NHS standards."

According to the organisation, crews were called to 1,167 incidents across Wiltshire, Bath and surrounding areas in 2023, a 10.6% increase on the previous year.

The charity relies on donations from the public and local businesses as it does not receive regular funding from the government or National Lottery grants.

In recent years, the service has altered its way of delivering care. Previously, two paramedics would attend calls, but highly-trained specialist critical care paramedics and doctors now provide the service - all of which comes at an extra cost.

Eric Woods, an 80-year-old who lives near Bradford-on-Avon, was saved by the air ambulance crew after a serious accident in 2020.

Eric Woods credited Wiltshire Air Ambulance for saving his life in 2020

Mr Woods fell off his bicycle into the road and was run over by a large pick-up truck. Both his legs and his pelvis were broken and he lost a significant amount of blood.

"I never thought I would need the air ambulance, but I certainly did," he said.

"I'm very grateful to them and I'm sure I wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for them."

Since recovering from the accident, Mr Woods has been volunteering with the organisation in order to "give something back".

"People will go into their pockets and give as much change as they can.

"They apologise [for not donating a lot], but every little bit helps", he said.