Air ambulance charity’s calling for more volunteers

BRISTOL’s air ambulance has moved its fundraising arm to new offices and appealed for more volunteers to help keep the helicopter flying.

The Great Western Air Ambulance is now based near Thornbury, where its administration and fundraising centre forms part of the 200-acre Eastwood Park estate in Falfield.

Paul Weir, chief executive of GWAA, said: “We’re delighted Eastwood Park’s been able to accommodate us and at very charitable rates.” He said two local volunteers, Jenny James and Mary Wright, worked in the office every morning and he was looking to recruit two more for afternoons.

The charity does not receive any statutory funding and relies on the support of the public to raise the £1 million a year it costs to provide its life-saving service.

Its helicopter is based at Filton airfield and is used to carry emergency doctors and specialist paramedics to the most seriously ill and injured patients in the former Avon area and beyond.

Eastwood Park is a training, conference and wedding venue. It offers technical training for a wide range of occupations and even has its own fully functioning operating theatre. It can replicate a range of working set-ups, such as lift shafts and decontamination units, so staff can get to grips with problems they may face in their jobs. The hospital theatre is used to train healthcare staff, especially for the NHS, but has also been used for filming by the BBC drama series