Wales Air Ambulance service will be joining the 18 other regional charities in recognising National Air Ambulance Week from Monday.

It is an opportunity for air ambulance charities to highlight their life-saving contribution while thanking the public who keep the helicopters flying.

Launched on St. David's Day 2001, the Wales Air Ambulance (WAA) Charity runs the only air ambulance charity based in, and dedicated to, Wales.

WAA has carried out more than 30,000 missions to-date since its launch on St David's Day 2001. 

WAA's four airbase operations in Caernarfon, Llanelli, Welshpool and Cardiff are ready to save lives wherever needed.

The Charity relies entirely on donations to raise £6.5 million each year to keep the helicopters flying.

In April 2015, a new and more advanced medical workforce began to operate from the Wales Air Ambulance bases.

The Charity partnered with NHS Wales to create a consultant-led medical operation – known within the NHS as the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS Cymru).

EMRTS Cymru is responsible for the medical workforce and medical governance of the service.

As a result, WAA can be anywhere in Wales within 20 minutes and patients receive Emergency Department-standard care before they even reach hospital.

The Service's critical care consultants and practitioners are highly skilled and it carries some of the most pioneering medical equipment in the world.

This includes the ability to deliver blood transfusions, administer anaesthesia and undertake emergency operations. WAA helicopters are often described as a 'Flying ED' (Emergency Department).

The Charity also runs the Children's Wales Air Ambulance, a specialist division that provides expert care for some of Wales' youngest patients.

WAA crews airlift paediatric and neonatal patients to and from specialist hospitals across the UK, as well as providing vital air cover on emergency missions.

Dave Gilbert, WAA Chair of Trustees, said: "This service thrives thanks to the support of our trustees, employees, volunteers, medics and pilots, and their dedication to our cause of serving Wales and saving lives."

Angela Hughes, WAA Chief Executive, added: "To the people of Wales we say thank you. Thank you for joining our lottery. Thank you for using our shops and café. Thank you for your donations. We are a service created by the people of Wales for the people of Wales."

The whole of Wales receives the services of the WAA from the bigger cities to towns like Barry.

Last year, Wales' Air Ambulance was required at a major event during Barry's half marathon where a runner had collapsed.

This year, National Air Ambulance Week takes place between 9 and 15 September.