South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant

The Trust was delighted to take the first step in becoming a Veteran Aware organisation, by signing the Armed Forces Covenant in December 2021.

The Armed Forces Covenant ensures we are committed to upholding the key principles of the Covenant which recognise the value serving Personnel, both regular and reservists, veterans, and military families contribute to our organisation.

About us

 The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for the provision of ambulance services across an area of 10,000 square miles which is 20% of mainland England.

The Trust serves a total population of over 5.5 million and is estimated to receive an influx of over 23 million visitors each year. Our operational area is predominantly rural but also includes large urban centres.

Our core operations focus is the delivery of emergency ambulance 999 services (A&E). We have 92 ambulance stations, two Emergency Operations Centres, and two Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART).

The Trust also provides the clinical teams for four air ambulance charities across the South West (Cornwall Air Ambulance, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, Wiltshire Air Ambulance, and Great Western Air Ambulance) and also works closely with the Devon Air Ambulance Trust.

We employ nearly 6,000 mainly clinical and operational staff (including paramedics, emergency care assistants, advanced technicians, and nurse practitioners) plus GPs, around 950 volunteers (including community first responders, BASICS doctors, fire co-responders and ambulance service volunteers) and over 800 students in training.