As a token of the nation's thanks, the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity's (GWAAC) Critical Care Team has been awarded Platinum Jubilee Medals ahead of the celebrations this bank holiday weekend. GWAAC's Specialist Paramedic in Critical Care, Fleur Mosley, said: "I was really honoured and excited to receive my medal which commemorates such a special and momentous occasion."

To be eligible for a medal, the crew had to meet certain criteria as frontline emergency services personnel, including:

• Be in paid service
• Be retained or in a voluntary capacity
• Be dealing with emergencies as part of their conditions of service
• Have completed five full calendar years of service on 6 February 2022

All GWAAC Advanced and Specialist Paramedics in Critical Care (APCC and SPCC) and most of its doctors have received the award.

Anna Perry, CEO, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity said: "I'm really pleased for the crew. This recognition is especially deserved following the extraordinary resilience and courage they showed during the pandemic. They remained determined to provide the best possible service to our communities."

This summer, GWAAC's Critical Care Team will be called out to someone in urgent need every three hours; they bring the skills and expertise of a hospital emergency department straight to the patient. Every mission is potentially lifesaving and the charity relies on charitable donations and support from its local community to raise over £4 million a year to keep flying.

GWAAC's summer appeal is raising funds to help the crew get to patients in urgent need. You can find out more HERE.

GWAAC provide the critical care and air ambulance service for 2.1 million people across the counties of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, and parts of Wiltshire.

2021 was the charity's second-busiest year to date, with 1,964 call-outs. The Critical Care Team attends an average of over five incidents a day, either by helicopter or in one of three critical care cars. On average each mission costs around £2,000 to attend. The charity needs to raise over £4 million a year in order to remain operational, yet receives no day-to-day funding from the Government or National Lottery.