The Devon Air Ambulance is an organisation providing emergency medical services through the provision of two helicopter air ambulances covering the county of Devon in the South West of England, United Kingdom.[1][2] The helicopters are run by the Devon Air Ambulance Trust, which is a registered charity,[3] raising money from public and private donations in excess of £3m every year.[4][5]
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The Devon Air Ambulance Trust was formed by Ann Thomas, in memory of her son, 18-year-old Ceri Thomas, who was fatally injured in a road traffic collision in 1986.[4][6] At hospital, his mother learned that the quicker a patient receives hospital treatment, the greater that patient's chances of survival. Subsequently, she started a campaign to launch an air ambulance service for Devon.[6]
The service went into operation on 27 August 1992,[6] covering the entirety of the county of Devon, including the rural and inaccessible moors of Exmoor and Dartmoor.[7] The trust currently operates two helicopters[2] and can reach 50% of locations in Devon within 5 minutes of taking to the air, with remaining locations accessible within 15 minutes.[8]
The trust currently operates two aircraft, both Eurocopter EC135T2 models, although of different model years, from two different airfields, in order to maximise coverage of the county. Both helicopters fly for 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.[8]
The South Devon helicopter is located along with the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary helicopter at Police headquarters at Middlemoor, near Exeter, having previously been based at Exeter International Airport. The aircraft is registered G-DVAA, and was purchased in 2008 for around £3.3m.[8]
The North Devon helicopter is located at Eaglescott Airfeld,[8] previously at Belle Vue Airfield,[9] near Great Torrington. Its registration is G-DAAT.[8]
The Trust's mission statement is: "To relieve sickness and injury in the county of Devon by assisting with the provision of an Air Ambulance service".[10][11] The trust provides air ambulance cover for the entire county, in association with the South Western Ambulance Service, who provide the paramedics that fly with the trust on secondment.[12][13]
The trust receives no funding from any government body, instead relying on voluntary donations and the business generated by its shops to meet its running costs of around £2.2 million per year. one of the aircraft ( G-DAAT ) is leased from and maintained by Bond Air Services Ltd, who also provide the pilots and engineers.[6]
One of the helicopters (G-DAAT) bears the signature of television presenter Jennie Bond who named the Trust as her chosen charity during her appearance in the show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. The money raised enabled the Trust to buy a GPS moving map system for the helicopter.[8]