DORSET & SOMERSET AIR AMBULANCE (DSAA)
In April, Trustees Tom Baker and Richard Gale, were fortunate to be given an extensive tour of the DSAA’s base at Henstridge Airfield near the Dorset and Somerset border.
The DSAA had reached out to the GFT to help them raise their profile within the BCP area and help them promote their fund-raising campaign to equip a second emergency helicopter for the region. The air ambulance service had been one of the charities that founding trustee, Ted Gale, had long supported so the DSAA’s request for help was given top priority.
During the visit Tom and Richard met with a number of staff and pilots, witnessing the helicopter going out on an emergency call, and then seeing all the facilities as well as the equipment used in the helicopter and the ambulance cars which they also operate. Afterwards they sat down with the charity’s CEO, Charles Hackett, to understand what the charity is looking to achieve this year and beyond. Charles explained that their current focus was on raising funds by the summer of 2026 to equip a second helicopter which they had already purchased. The figure to achieve this is £1m with about half of that sum already raised as of April ‘26. He went on to explain the longer term project which is to build a new, purpose base in Yeovil which is currently still in the planning stages.
Tom later commented ‘Until this visit I’d always thought that the air ambulance was just a quicker way of transporting patients to hospital. I never realised the calibre of the equipment and the clinicians on board and the amazing critical care they can provide, whether it be in a remote field or by a roadside.’ Richard added ‘It costs £10m a year to operate the DSAA service, with no direct funding coming from the Government or the NHS, and they respond to around 3,000 missions a year. It is a brilliant charity, well run and operated by dedicated staff and we are really looking forward to helping the DSAA raise their profile as well as donating funds to their helicopter appeal’.
You can read more about the DSAA and their amazing, life saving work here: https://www.dsairambulance.org.uk/about-us
