We began in 1990, so in 2025 we will be celebrating 35 years of saving lives across Wiltshire and Bath. There have been many changes to the service, including the start of night flying in 2001, becoming a standalone service in 2015 and the move to Semington in 2018. The rebrand to Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance Charity took place in November 2024. 

Since moving to the airbase in Semington in 2018, our charity is the closest resource to the city of Bath. Subsequently, WAA has been called to the majority of missions in the city of Bath since 2018. In the past three years, more than 72.5% of all Bath missions have been attended by us and in that time we have also transported over 200 patients to the Royal United Hospital in the city. Bath is our second most visited area annually (after Swindon), but that was not recognised within our previous name. The name change better represents our true operational area and removes any potential for confusion amongst individuals and businesses about the lifesaving work being carried out by our crew in Bath – which in turn should improve the amount of donations we receive from the city. 

The new charity name is now reflected in the logo, with “+ Bath” incorporated to show the addition of the city to our official operational area. The heart reflects our love and care for the community and the H focuses on the health side of our work, shaped like the H of a helipad where our crew land. 

We have also switched to a darker green colour to strengthen the impact of our brand, and to improve our accessibility. The charity has a new strapline too, separated from the logo now, of 'Going Above + Beyond'. This came out of detailed consultation and feedback with stakeholders.  

We held in-depth consultation sessions with a broad range of our supporters, including donors, volunteers, trustees, our pilots, paramedics and doctors, fundraisers, charity team members, local business partners and former patients to ensure we had a wide range of feedback. 

This engagement consultation was undertaken independently from the charity by a local Keevil-based company, Rednine, to ensure impartiality. 

It was then down to the Board of Trustees to approve the new logo and strapline.  

There will clearly be a cost to the rebrand, but this has been supported with funding from profits on investments. Crucially this ensures it has not had any impact on the funding of our aviation and clinical operations – delivery of our primary function.  

The lion’s share of the rebrand cost will be the respray of the helicopter, which after ten years was due to take place anyway. 

It is important for our charity name and brand to reflect everything we do.  

The impact of the rebrand can only be judged over time but we hope the charity will benefit in the following ways:  

• Improved visibility of the charity in Bath 

• Improved understanding of the charity as the official air ambulance for Bath 

• Increased donations and support from individuals and businesses in Bath 

• Improvement of brand and mission alignment 

• Much improved visibility of the charity from the new brand 

• Better accessibility for people viewing our marketing output  

• Improved visibility of Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance as a charity 

• Improved tone and voice from the charity 

No. As demonstrated by the statistics, Bath has long been part of our operational area, so our service will remain the same. We will continue to attend incidents across Wiltshire, Bath and surrounding areas 365 days a year, up to 19 hours a day. 

Wiltshire will not be impacted in any way by the rebrand. Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance Charity covers Wiltshire, Bath and surrounding areas, just as it has done since 1990 – the only difference is our name now truly represents that. 

Our registered charity number (1144097) and company number (7805796) will both remain the same. 

No, your valued support will continue without the need to change anything. Our name will be changed on our bank accounts so this will affect how it appears on your bank statement, but rest assured all payments will remain the same and you do not need to do anything. Please write ‘Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance Charity’ on future cheques.  

If your will includes our charity number or address then there will be no requirement to make any changes. Equally, if you will was written after 2011 (when we became Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust) there will be little confusion as we have full documentation showing our change to Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance Charity from the previous name. If you are still concerned, don't hesitate to call the charity office to speak to our team.

We are on call every day for up to 19 hours, on average they respond to three incidents by helicopter and two critical care cars.

Our primary area is Wiltshire and Bath, but we can also be called to incidents in surrounding areas (we’ve attended incidents in Wales and on the Isle of Wight before!). From our airbase in Semington, the helicopter can reach 
anywhere in Wiltshire within 11 minutes and be in the centre of Bath in just four minutes.

We are called if a patient needs our clinical skills in critical care and/or the additional drugs and specialist medical equipment we carry.

We are dispatched by the HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) desk in Exeter, which is run by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASfT).

The dispatchers monitor all calls to the ambulance service in the area and identify incidents where an air ambulance is needed. 

The dispatchers listen into calls, phone back callers and get updates from ambulance crews on scene.

In addition, we can be called upon for support by land ambulances and other air ambulance crews, or liaise directly with the HEMS desk for incidents we locate.

Our extensive analysis of incidents across the Wiltshire and Bath area demonstrate that there would not be enough incidents requiring our services, compared to the huge extra cost for extending our flying time to 24/7. Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance Charity is one of very few air ambulance charities that fly at night, thanks to the specialist equipment we have, such as night vision goggles.

It costs £4.5 million a year to keep the service operational, which is the equivalent of more than £12,000 a day.

We receive no regular direct Government funding or National Lottery grants, so rely on generous donations from the general public and businesses across Wiltshire and Bath to continue our lifesaving service.

No, we are a registered charity. Our critical care paramedics are seconded across from South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust, who pay half of their salary, with the charity funding the rest, as well as their training.

There are many ways to support our lifesaving work. The easiest way is through a one-off donation, or by signing up to give on a regular basis. We also have our own Lottery and hold two Raffles a year. Other ways to support us including leaving a gift in your Will, by using our In Memory service or through our Charity Shop (either by purchasing items or donating unwanted items).