Vision, mission and values

Our Vision

An outstanding Helicopter, Emergency Medical Service, available to all, 24 hours a day.

Our Mission

Relief of sickness and injury in the county of Devon and surrounding areas.

Our values

Our values are important to us because they inform our actions and our behaviour; these include exemplary patient care, a safe and just culture, excellence and community engagement.

Read more about how we aim to deliver our vision, support our missions and demonstrate our values in our 5-year Strategic Plan. 

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Proud of our independence

Devon Air Ambulance Trust is a registered charity. Our aim is:

To relieve sickness and injury in and around the county of Devon through provision of an emergency Air Ambulance Service.

In 2018 it cost £7.5 million to run the service. In addition, we need to raise around £1m more to build capital funds in order to ensure we can replace our aircraft after ten years’ service and to meet significant maintenance and repair costs, plus ambitious plans to extend our operating hours.

The Charity is wholly independent meaning that through the Devon Air Ambulance Trading Company (DAATC) it has its own Air Operating Certificate (AOC). This means effectively the service and Charity are able to make more operational decisions without the need for a third party, therefore we can liaise directly with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Your Air Ambulances

Devon’s two Air Ambulances are state-of-the-art Eurocopter EC135s. They are both owned by the Charity, which has many advantages over leasing. In fact, we have realised savings of over £12,000 per month per aircraft since we bought them.

Our wholly owned subsidiary trading company holds the Air Operator's Certificate making the service truly independent, with full control over all operational and developmental improvements.

We work closely with the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) which deploys the helicopters.  Although our paramedic aircrew are employed by SWASFT too, they are seconded to us and the Charity also makes a contribution. The Charity, together with the other Air Ambulance charities under the SWASFT umbrella, funds a specialist HEMS desk (helicopter emergency medical services) staffed by a team of six, based at the 999 control room. They monitor tasking and despatch the aircraft in order to optimise availability for the patients most in need.

Our patients are at the heart of everything we do. Read our patient stories