Highworth Lions donate to Wiltshire air Ambulance

Meeting the Air Ambulance team

Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance is a lifesaving helicopter and critical care service, established on 15 March 1990. Operating a Bell 429 helicopter and critical care cars, the charity delivers advanced, hospital-level medical care directly to patients across Wiltshire and Bath, up to 19 hours each day.

In May 2018, the service moved into a purpose-built airbase at Outmarsh, in the village of Semington near Trowbridge. This marked the first time in the charity’s history that aircrew and support staff were all based together under one roof — helping to make our lifesaving work more cost-effective in the long term.

During their visit, the Lions team was welcomed by Peter Burch, Coordinator of the charity. He introduced them to Ed Morgan, one of the pilots, and two Critical Care Paramedics: James Hubbard and Dolly McPherson. Dolly shared that she also holds flying experience and is able to assist when required. The full team on site includes pilots, paramedics, critical care doctors, and a dedicated ground crew — all essential to keeping the service operational 19 hours a day, 365 days a year.

It costs approximately £12,000 per day to run and maintain this extraordinary lifesaving service. While visiting, the Lions team witnessed an emergency call-out, observing the paramedics as the helicopter departed, and watched it return later that morning.