Taking flight
When Pirtek Swindon’s Mark Gresswell was injured in a motorcycle accident almost two years ago, the Wiltshire Air Ambulance service helped save his life. As a thank you, Gresswell’s colleagues decided to raise £5,000 for the service. To this end, the Pirtek Swindon centre ran a huge charity fundraising raffle in June. As well as being fellow inhabitants of Wiltshire, Pirtek Swindon and the air ambulance service share a bond. years ago and the rapid response and intervention of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance crew literally saved his life,” explains Pirtek Swindon centre manager John Kordula. “Since then, we have been looking for a way to help repay them for saving the life of our colleague and friend.” “One of our team was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident almost three
Operated as a charitable trust and providing helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) in Wiltshire and the surrounding counties, Wiltshire Air Ambulance (WAA) began operating in March 1990. Since then the helicopter and crew have flown over 16,000 missions. WAA is available up to 19 hours a day, 365 days a year and attends an average of three incidents a day. These include road traffic collisions, cardiac arrests, strokes, child-related emergencies and horse riding accidents. The service currently uses a Bell 429 helicopter, the only one of its kind used as an air ambulance in the UK. The aircraft has a top speed of 155 knots (178 mph) and a cruising speed of 150 knots (173 mph) allowing it to reach anywhere in Wiltshire within 11 minutes. The helicopter also flies some
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