Unsubscribe from Communications Expand If you currently receive communications from the Charity, please be assured that your details will not be passed on to third parties, unless it is to support the charitable objectives of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. We never sell your data and we will never share it with another company or charity for marketing purposes. View our Privacy Policy. Opting Out from Communications If you no longer wish to receive communications from us, you can opt out at any time by: Calling: 01823 669604 Emailing: [email protected] Writing to us: Dorset and Somerset Air AmbulanceLandacre HouseCastle RoadChelston Business ParkWellingtionSomersetTA21 9JQ
Simon Jones Expand Simon has worked within the aerospace and defence industry for over 30 years, with the last 23 spent with Leonardo Helicopters, where he sits as part of the Senior Leadership Team. Simon has a wide breadth of business knowledge and experience, including working extensively overseas, including two long term assignments in Canada and Denmark. Simon is a Trustee of the Leonardo Helicopters Pension Scheme and a Governor of Preston School in Yeovil; he became a Trustee of DSAA in 2018. Simon lives in a village on the Somerset Levels with his wife Amanda and spends his limited spare time cycling, skiing, kayaking, competing in motorcycle trails and is actively involved in the community, having helped organise two local charity events for the last 20 years.
1999 Expand DSAA was registered as a charity in December 1999 by a joint venture of trustees from Dorset and Somerset Ambulance Service. Seed funding was received from the Government and the Automobile Association. The airbase was established at Henstridge, near Sherborne. The charity operated from a broom cupboard in Taunton Ambulance Station with one fundraiser and one volunteer, eventually moving to a portacabin on this site.
2000 Expand The charity started a Society Lottery with an office in Bournemouth Ambulance Station Our first Flight for Life Lottery Draw took place on 19th December by Jeremy Beadle at the Bournemouth Pavillion Theatre. Our service came online at 8.00am on the 21st March 2000; 52 minutes later we were tasked to our first mission.
2000-2006 Expand During this time, we operated a twin-paramedic model of operation which was pretty much the standard of the time and changed very little for many years. The principle was to get to the patient as quickly as possible, carry out an immediate assessment, stabilise them and package them for transportation to hospital. Our crew consisted of two paramedics and a pilot and operated during daylight hours only. During the first three years of operation, our aircraft costs were met by the AA grant and our medical costs were met by the ambulance service.
2007 Expand The Bolkow 105 served us well for seven years, but in 2007 we decided to upgrade to a more modern aircraft, the EC135. HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, formerly unveiled our new helicopter at a ceremony held at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton. SWASFT created a permanent Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) desk to cover the south west region. This was the first full-time HEMS desk in the country; today it is funded by the five air ambulance charities it serves.
2008 Expand Geoff Jarvis (owner of Henstridge Airfield) built a purpose-built air ambulance hangar and leased it to the charity for a peppercorn rent. The charity moved to new offices in Wellington.
2011 Expand In 2011, we began looking at ways to develop our critical care capability and increased our paramedics to six. Our Lottery office moved to leased offices in Wimborne and we organised our first ever Coast to Coast Cycle Challenge.
2013 Expand In 2013, we sponsored a unique, post-graduate education programme for eight paramedics. This was funded by the charity and run in partnership with the University of Hertfordshire, SWASFT and a number of NHS hospital trusts across the region.
2015 Expand During our 15th Anniversary year, we began operating a critical care model for 3.5 days a week. Our unique education programme received national recognition when we were awarded a Health Service Journal Award for ‘Improving Outcomes through Learning and Development’.
2016 Expand We made the transition to providing a full critical care service for seven days a week. Our team expanded to 10 paramedics and 14 doctors. DSAA announced a collaboration with Dorset County Hospital, Devon Freewheelers, SWASFT and the Henry Surtees Foundation, which resulted in patients being able to receive blood components at the scene of an incident. We officially opened a new clinical training facility, a day/night aviation planning facility, suitable technical storage space and improved crew rest facilities at our Henstridge airbase.
2017 Expand On 12th June, DSAA acquired a new AW169 helicopter, in a joint venture with new operator, Specialist Aviation Services, the firstto enter air ambulance operational service in the UK. We began night operations and extended our operational hours to 19 hours a day: 7.00am – 2.00am.
2018 Expand After holding a competition to find a name for our new aircraft, ‘Pegasus’ was unveiled at a ceremony which took place at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil. Our clinical team expanded to 14 practitioners and we recruited two part-time Patient and Family Liaison Nurses. The HEMS Desk extended their hours and staff to cover the longer shift in air ambulance operations. The charity purchased our head office building in Wellington.
2019 Expand DSAA approved a grant to the South Western Ambulance Service Charity, to support the training and equipping of volunteer community first responder groups within Dorset and Somerset. In April 2019, in addition to the critical care service we provide by helicopter and critical care car, our practitioners took to the road, in a bid to take outreach to a new level. This innovative additional DSAA service operates between the hours of 10.00am until 10.00pm.
Wendy Green Expand Wendy graduated in Pathology from the University of Cambridge in 1983; since then she has had an interesting and varied career. Initially, Wendy worked in technical management roles with food manufacturing companies. After an extended childcare break, she took on a range of clinical governance and project management roles within both the NHS and two independent hospices. She also spent several years working as School Food Project Manager for Somerset County Council. Currently, Wendy is a Senior Clinical Claims Manager for WPA Health Insurance, based in Taunton. Wendy lives in Chard, where she is an active member of the local church. She enjoys walking and singing and also trips to London to visit her 2 adult children.
Tracey Killen Expand Tracey worked in retail throughout her career with the John Lewis Partnership. She ran the John Lewis shop at Cribbs Causeway, before moving across to Human Resources where she became the Director of Personnel for the Partnership and a member of the Board before retiring in April this year. Tracey is a Non-Executive Director of Morgan Sindall PLC where she Chairs the Remuneration Committee and is also a member of the Audit and Nominations Committees. She is a Fellow of Be the Business - a not for profit organisation that supports SME's to improve their business performance, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel, and a Governor at Merchants Academy school in Bristol, which is part of the Venturers Trust where Tracey also sits on the HR Committee. Tracey lives in a village in South Somerset and loves to cook, entertain, garden and walk.
Sue Heyes Expand Sue has spent her career within the HR profession, working across a range of retail and financial service sector organisations. Her final position, before becoming an Independent HR Consultant, was supporting the relocation of Lloyds Register (LR) Marine to the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute; a collaboration between LR and Southampton University. The early part of Sue’s life was spent in Wimborne before she moved to the South East of England with work, moving back to the Wimborne area in 1990. She has been a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development for over 30 years and currently supports her local branch as a volunteer. Sue has been married to Alan for 38 years and has a grown-up son. Her hobbies and interests are varied and include gardening, cooking and a wide range of crafting.
Sarah Day Expand Sarah works for the Healthcare Financial Management Association as a policy and research manager, supporting NHS finance staff across the UK to understand national policy and guidance and address knotty problems across all health sectors. Prior to this she worked as a management accountant in the NHS in Somerset; the South-west region; and, latterly, in a national role with NHS England. Sarah started her career at Westland Helicopters working as a structural design engineer on the EH101, having graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Bath. With a CV full of health and helicopters, DSAA is an obvious choice to support as a trustee! Sarah is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and holds a MBA. Sarah lives on the Somerset Levels and, when time allows, enjoys gardening and walking.
Half Moon Inn and Country Lodge Expand Half Moon Inn and Country Lodge, Main Street, Mudford, Yeovil, BA21 5TF