GLOUCESTERSHIRE was the busiest area for Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) for the first half of the year.

This was one of the findings from the charity, after it reflected on six months of callouts and critical care. Between January and June, its crew were mobilised 1,122 times; an average of more than six times every day.

Gloucestershire was the busiest area, with 309 call-outs. Cardiac arrests remained the most common type of incident, with 257 patients needing care (23 per cent of all call-outs). GWAAC was also called to 170 babies, children and teenagers, making up 15 per cent of patients.

Tim Ross-Smith GWAAC’s Operations Officer, said: "The proportion of our call-outs involving medical emergencies has continued to increase over recent years.

“We believe this reflects a better understanding of the specialist care GWAAC can provide, supported by initiatives such as our educational work with road ambulance colleagues and embedding a Specialist Paramedic in the 999 control room to provide immediate clinical assessment when emergency calls are received.

“Together, these initiatives are helping ensure the patients who are most likely to benefit from our specialist skills receive them."

GWAAC’s helicopter was tasked to 301 incidents from January to June this year, compared with 309 in 2025, and 279 in 2024.

For the same time period, its critical care cars were tasked to 821 incidents, compared to 872 last year and 880 in 2024.

The 1,122 incidents in the first half of 2026 is a slight drop from 1,181 incidents in the first half of 2025 and 1,159 in 2024. However, despite the small decrease, crews remain busy.

Medical crews in the South West have been extremely busy recently, with the increase in temperature being cited as one of the major factors. South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) saw record demand for its services in June.

Between July 1 and July 3, the GWAAC crew was mobilised 30 times, but currently averages 42 call-outs in a week.

Outside of Gloucestershire, GWAAC attended 202 incidents in South Gloucestershire, 297 incidents in Bristol, 140 incidents in North Somerset, and 69 incidents in Wiltshire.

You can find out more about GWAAC’s work via its website.