Great Western Air Ambulance Charity unveil new critical care car to reach more critically ill patients Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) unveiled a new critical care car this week, which will allow them to reach more critically ill patients across the region.
The new vehicles will enable our team to negotiate tougher terrain and drive safely in challenging weather conditions to reach patients quickly and safely, particularly in rural areas.”
The charity’s emergency crew respond to those in need by critical care cars, as well as their helicopter, both carrying lifesaving medical equipment on board, including ventilators and advanced drugs that are not carried on a land ambulance.
The new model, a Skoda Kodiaq, has been modified to meet the full requirements of the air ambulance’s Specialist Paramedics and Critical Care Doctors. The vehicle has been specially converted to carry all the lifesaving medical kit that the crew bring to their patients. To convert and fully kit out a vehicle to be a critical care car costs £64,000.
GWAAC’s crew are called to the most seriously ill or injured patients across the region, and their specialist skills enable them to perform hospital level emergency care at the scene, giving the patient the best possible chance of a positive outcome.
This new car will be one of three vehicles to join GWAAC’s fleet, updating the current models that the service uses, after the charity successfully bid for a one-off Government grant from the Department of Health and Social Care last year to In 2019, they received over 2,000 call-outs to those purchase the much needed new cars. in urgent need, of which over two thirds were responded to by critical care car. The cars ensure As a charity, GWAAC received no day-to-day that the crew are always ready to respond in any funding from the Government or NHS, and relies conditions, for example when the helicopter is solely on charitable donations and grants from the unable to fly due to bad weather or maintenance, communities it serves and local organisations to or when the location of a patient has limited safe raise the £4 million needed each year to remain landing sites nearby and is easier to access by operational. road. To find out more about GWAAC’s new critical care Air Operations Officer at GWAAC, John Wood, car, visit: www.gwaac.com/critical-care-cars said: “Having reliable, appropriate and fully equipped cars are essential for us to reach and treat patients in the most effective way.
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