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Non emergency number: 0845 408 7000Introduction
The Air Operations Unit is a joint project between Wiltshire Police and the Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust. It has been in operation since 1990.
The Air Ambulance is funded by charity through the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal and approximately £500,000 is needed per year to keep the Air Ambulance operational. The Wiltshire Air Ambulance is one of only two in the country which can operate in the Ambulance role at night.
The Unit is based at Police Headquarters, Devizes and is operational between the hours of 8am - 3am, every day of the year (weather and maintenance permitting).
This location is ideally situated in the centre of the county which enables the unit to respond anywhere in the county within 12 minutes. Areas of major population can be reached within seven minutes apart from Swindon and Salisbury which takes nine and 11 minutes respectively.
The Unit forms part of Operations Support and is headed by an Executive Officer, four full time police observers, one relief observer and 6 full time paramedics.
The Unit's Role
The Unit is not elite; it is but a support service operating a high tech fast response vehicle and it should be viewed in this light. Its prime role is a rapid response to any incident which demands the need not only of the specialist ability of the aircraft but the expertise of experienced Police observers and/or paramedics.
The rapid transport to the scene can be extended to other key personnel such as firearms teams, dogs and their handlers, and Crime Scene Investigators. In its Air Ambulance role the rapid response with the life saving skills of the paramedic and appropriate equipment is paramount. Any subsequent patient to hospital is secondary, albeit an important role in terms of saving life.
