Crew

We pride ourselves on having an outstanding Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (known as HEMS). Our team of highly trained doctors, practitioners and pilots use their knowledge and specialist skills to save lives every day.

Our cohort of clinicians include a mixture of Senior Emergency Physicians, Intensive Care Consultants and Anaesthetists, Specialist Practitioners in Critical Care. All form part of the air operations crew and as part of their role assist the pilot with navigation and operation of some of the aircraft systems. We provide a Critical Care Team, consisting of at least a Doctor and Specialist Practitioner, for each mission. The doctors are predominantly drawn from NHS Hospital Trusts across the region and the practitioners are from the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASfT). More recently, some clinicians have joined us from further afield, broadening the skills and experience of the team.

Our aircraft, its pilots and maintenance support are provided by Specialist Aviation Services Ltd. The pilots are carefully selected because Air Ambulance flights are typically more challenging than regular non-emergency flight services. They have a great deal of experience in low level operations and instrument flying.