WILTSHIRE Air Ambulance says there are "important challenges ahead" for the charity as its costs rise to £4 million a year.

A new three-year strategy launched by the charity reveals its income target will rise from £3.75 million a year to £4 million from the 2021-22 financial year onwards.

It comes as Wiltshire Air Ambulance plans to enhance its clinical delivery by investing in additional training, as well as increasing the number of pre-hospital consultants (doctors) on its rota.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance director of income generation and communications Barbara Gray said: “In the past 18 months we have already adapted and coped with the very real clinical and financial challenges the Coronavirus pandemic has thrown at us and I’m extremely proud of our response.

“The long-term impacts of the virus remain unknown; however, this new three-year strategy is vital for the charity as we continue to consolidate and build again as life begins to get back to normal.

“We have important challenges ahead, with our financial target increasing to £4m a year and the potential succession plans for our helicopter, staff and board.

“Everyone has a part to play in our future, from staff, clinicians, volunteers, stakeholders and our donors.”

Record call-outs

During 2020 Wiltshire Air Ambulance was called to a record number of incidents, 1,238.

For the first half of 2021, recent figures revealed a further five per cent increase in the need for its lifesaving service.

At the same time, due to the Covid pandemic, the charity saw its fundraising income hit by £500,000 due to cancelled events.

The new strategy 

The new strategy set out by the charity also includes:

• Taking steps to futureproof itself, including investigating the possibility of replacing its existing Bell 429 helicopter in the next three to five years, along with succession plans being arranged for its senior team and board of trustees.

• Aims to embrace a digital culture, including advancements in patient care and paper-free record keeping for both clinical and aviation operations.

• Wiltshire Air Ambulance intends to research the possibility of employing someone to a dedicated patient liaison role.

• The charity is committed in its aim to educate every child in Wiltshire, Bath and surrounding areas in lifesaving skills, such as CPR, through its Emergency Awareness Training programme.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance is based in Semington, near Trowbridge, and can fly anywhere within Wiltshire in 11 minutes or to the centre of Bath in just four minutes.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance is called to, on average, three incidents a day in its helicopter and rapid response vehicles (cars).

In 2020 the charity was called to 1,238 incidents, a record since become a stand-alone service, with around one in three involving cardiac emergencies.

Visit: wiltshireairambulance.co.uk

 

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