AS Wiltshire Air Ambulance nears the end of its Silver Jubilee Year, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped make the incredible achievements of the last 12 months possible, and highlight some of the key successes since we started to operate our new helicopter, a Bell 429, as a standalone air ambulance.

I think most people in Wiltshire, me included, know someone who has been helped by our crew since we started operating an air ambulance service in 1990.

Our dedicated pilots and paramedics deliver exceptional patient care and our charity team and many supporters have worked incredibly hard to raise the funds needed to enable our helicopter to operate up to 19 hours a day, 365 days a year.

A vital part of our team is our fantastic and enthusiastic volunteers who give up their time to attend events, collect at supermarkets, give talks and presentations, sort and deliver Christmas cards and much more.

Our volunteers are our ambassadors and they do a great job spreading the word about our work which, in turn, helps to raise the money we need to keep flying and saving lives.

The people of Wiltshire are incredibly generous when it comes to funding their air ambulance.

Every little bit counts and without you raising money for us, we quite simply wouldn’t be flying.

In 2015, we made aviation history as the first air ambulance in the UK to use the Bell 429 helicopter. It’s faster and more powerful than the previous helicopters we used, which means our specialist crew can get to patients swiftly and fly them to the most appropriate hospital quickly.

This helicopter is also bigger inside and equipped with advanced medical kit, much of it paid for by donations.

As a standalone air ambulance, we now have two highly trained paramedics on board every flight. They are able to carry out surgical techniques on critically injured or ill patients by the roadside and administer additional drugs.

Another lifesaving enhancement we introduced in the last year is carrying blood on board the helicopter and rapid response car.

So far our critical care paramedics have given pre-hospital blood transfusions to 10 patients.

In our first year as a dedicated air ambulance we undertook 10 per cent more missions than in the previous year, 537 compared to 486. In 2015 we treated 195 patients at the scene and conveyed another 145 patients to hospital.

Now we are working hard on our plans to build a new home for Wiltshire Air Ambulance which will bring our aircrew and charity team together on one site. Our preferred site is on land at Outmarsh Farm, Semington.

This central position will enable our helicopter to reach all parts of Wiltshire within 11 minutes, just as we are able to do currently from our operations centre in Devizes.

A decision on our outline planning application is due to be made in February.

The response from the public consultation thus far is hugely positive.

If all goes to plan we hope to start building work in the autumn, enabling us to be operational from our new home by January 2018.

On behalf of everyone at Wiltshire Air Ambulance, thank you so much for all of your support and I hope you will continue to support us so that together we can deliver this lifesaving service for the next 25 years.

MANDY CLARKE, Chairman, Wiltshire Air Ambulance, Charitable Trust, Carlton House, Maundrell Road, Calne