Bristol air ambulance to expand

Bristol's air ambulance is set to operate every day of the week.

The Great Western Air Ambulance will begin using a different helicopter from April, allowing the service to save money and run for seven days a week rather than five.

The charity, which relies on donations to operate the air ambulance, will begin using a Bolkow 105DBS helicopter instead of a Eurocopter EC135 to reduce costs from £1.3 million a year to £1 million a year.

The charity's chief executive Paul Weir said the decision was taken because £1 million was a more realistic fundraising target for the air ambulance in its first year.

But he said switching to the less sophisticated aircraft would bring the huge benefit of serving patients seven days a week.

Mr Weir said: "At the moment, we fly from Tuesday to Saturday and if you're unfortunate enough to have an accident on a Sunday or Monday, we can't help you.

"This move makes good financial sense and patient care will be exactly the same.

"This aircraft wasn't available when we started out last June and we went for the Eurocopter, which was the latest model.

"But the Bolkow is one of the most widely used air ambulances in Europe.

"It's not as quick as the Eurocopter but for the sort of hops we do, which are a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes, it won't make a difference."

With the new aircraft, the service will continue to have a crew of three – a pilot, a doctor and air paramedics trained to critical care standards.

The Filton-based helicopter service was launched in June to provide cover for Bristol, Bath and the surrounding area and has already flown to more than 300 missions.

The specialist paramedics and emergency doctors provide A&E-level medical care at the scene of incidents so that patients can either be treated or stabilised before being transported to the most appropriate hospital for their needs.

Paramedics, drugs and some of the equipment carried by the team is paid for by the ambulance service but the charity needs to raise the rest of the running costs themselves.

Mr Weir said: "We started the fundraising from scratch in June and now the money is starting to come in. But we need more to reach the £1.3 million.

"But in this financial climate, we will be £300,000 short of that by the end of the financial year unless people support us. The most prudent thing to do is change the aircraft."

So far, £350,000 has been raised towards the running of the air ambulance and Mr Weir said donations had been flooding in since November, a month after the Post launched its Sky's The Limit appeal to help the charity.

Mr Weir, who denied reports that the future of the service was under threat, said the charity hoped to switch back to using the Eurocopter in a year's time, but running it seven days a week.

He said the Eurocopter is currently unavailable for use on Sundays and Mondays because it is used as a police helicopter.