A NEW helipad will mean the region’s flying doctors can respond to incidents much faster.

The Great Western Air Ambulance (GWAA) now has a brand new £50,000 helipad, paid for and built by building firm Benson Bros, at its Filton airfield home.

The helipad will enable the air ambulance to take off more quickly when called to attend one of its 130 call-outs a month.

Previously the helicopter had to take off from the airfield’s taxi way, which could delay the crew if there was already a plane landing or taking off.

GWAA has been in service for three years, and is described as a flying accident and emergency department, merged with a flying intensive care unit.

The daytime-only service covers South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Bristol, Bath and parts of North Somerset.

Pete Sadler, critical care nurse for the air ambulance, said: "The helicopter is not primarily here to take the patient to the hospital but the hospital to the patient.

"We can provide a higher level of care at the scene of the accident for severely injured patients. We can treat them more on the scene, which saves time at the hospital."

John Christensen, chief executive for the charity said the helipad was just the beginning of a number of changes planned for the service, which include a new helicopter and potentially a new home, because of the closure of Filton airfield next year.

A new helicopter could cost the service in the region of an additional £600,000 a year.

He said: "Looking to the future this is a previous generation helicopter and we need to be merging to a new generation helicopter and at the moment we are trying to get the funds in the bank."

He added: "We don’t need the entire airfield but we are looking at all our options and all the alternatives. If anyone has any suggestions or an area we could consider we would be very happy to hear from them."

To mark the occasion Lady White, husband of Sir George White, grandson of George White who formed the 101-year-old Bristol Aeroplane Company, unveiled a commemorative plaque.

For more information about the Great Western Air Ambulance (GWAA) visit www.greatwesternairambulance.com