GWAAC appoints new Operations Officer
Tim Ross-Smith will be leading the operational side of the crew’s work
Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) in the UK has announced the appointment of Tim Ross-Smith to its new Operations Officer role.
This role was created in collaboration with South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT).
As GWAAC’s Operations Officer, Ross-Smith is managing the Advanced Practitioners and Specialist Paramedics in Critical Care. He will be leading on the operational, rather than the clinical side, of the crew’s work.
He is responsible for the crew’s welfare and making sure they stay up to date with training and appraisals. He is also responsible, along with GWAAC’s Operations Manager Sean Coles, for the day-to-day running of the airbase; he’ll be making sure the crew has all the medication and kit they need, and that the cars have been serviced. Additionally, he is the primary point of contact at the airbase for the charity staff.
Anna Perry, GWAAC’s CEO, explained this new role: “When it came to recruiting a new manager for our Specialist Paramedics this year, we broke with tradition and worked with SWASFT to appoint a professional operations manager with a strong history of managing and leading teams, rather than a clinical leader. We were able to do this because we already have excellent clinical leaders in our other roles – our Advanced Practitioner and our Medical Director.”
GWAAC believes it is the first air ambulance charity in the Southwest to have worked with SWASFT to create a role focused solely on the operational leadership of the crew.
On his appointment, Ross-Smith said: “Having worked alongside the team at critical incidents, it was the team ethos and the way they worked together that impressed me and I thought I could bring my skills from both an incident management and line management perspective and have a positive impact on the team here.
“The new challenge for me is working with a charity but a new challenge is always good. I’m excited to be part of such a well-known and respected team and brand.”