Serving the community, providing life-saving care in Bristol and Avon.

Who We Are

Bravo Medics saves lives in the local community by sending highly trained critical care doctors to the very sickest of patients to support the local ambulance service.

These doctors, who all work full time for the NHS, volunteer in their own family time and are on call to drive on blue lights to the scene of accidents or medical emergencies where they provide hospital level care, that would otherwise be unavailable, and can mean the difference between life and death.

What We Do

Rapid Response

An icon of a car with a blue flashing light and the Bravo Medics, used to represent the cars that our volunteer doctors use to get to the patients quickly.
An icon of a ventilated patient used to represent the specialised care that our volunteer doctors are able to give in the pre-hospital setting.
An icon of a paramedic, a Bravo Medic volunteer doctor and a surgeon used to represent the chain of care that Bravo Medic volunteers are part of.

High Level Care

Working Together

Supporting & Learning

On scene we provide hospital level intensive care to patients, improving their chance of survival and reducing any ongoing disability they might suffer.

Highly trained dispatchers aim to let us know about critically ill patients very shortly after a 999 call is made, so we can rapidly arrive on scene.

Alongside our ambulance service colleagues, we aim to transport patients to the most appropriate hospital for them, with their treatment continuing en-route.

By following up with patients we can offer them explanations of what care was provided, if that will help their recovery; as well as learning from each patient's experience in order to optimise the service that we provide the community.

An icon of a Bravo Medic doctor and a patient used to represent the follow-up supporting and learning that we undertake.

Where We Work

Based in Bristol and Avon we are primarily tasked to patients in Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset – but we also attend incidents in Somerset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Wales when our specialist skills are required.

Our Responders - Volunteer Critical Care Consultants

Dr Andrew Heavyside

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Andrew is a Consultant Anaesthetist. He developed his interest in pre-hospital care whilst at university in Aberdeen and completed his training in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine with Great Western Air Ambulance Charity over 2019-20. In a varied career to date, to complement his base specialty training, Andrew has completed additional posts in Paediatric and Neurosciences Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine and Major Trauma. He has also served as an officer in the Royal Navy. Outside of work Andrew enjoys scuba diving, walking in the countryside and is slowly learning to fly.

Dr Glyn Thomas

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Glyn has been a Consultant Cardiologist in Bristol for over ten years and specialises in the treatment of heart rhythm disorders which can lead to sudden cardiac death. Having witnessed first-hand the importance of pre-hospital critical care in his patients, he undertook additional training in Anaesthesia, Paediatrics, and Trauma to become a Critical Care Doctor with Great Western Air Ambulance in 2019. During his training, he served as an officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Glyn is usually to be found enjoying the outdoors or on the water with his two boys.

Dr Mark Tehan

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Mark is an Emergency Medicine and Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine consultant. He trained in London and the East of England before becoming a consultant in 2018 and then moving to live in South Gloucestershire. Mark also works for Magpas Air Ambulance. Outside of work, Mark enjoys walking Tali the Labrador and good food.

Dr James Tooley

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James has been a Consultant in Paediatrics and Neonatal Intensive Care for more than ten years and works full time as a Paediatric and Neonatal Retrieval Medicine Consultant based out of Bristol. He is also a Critical Care Doctor for Great Western Air Ambulance. We are delighted that James is our clinical director. When James isn't in the back of an ambulance he likes to spend time at home with his wife and two children.

2021

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2021

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Bravo (Bristol and Avon Volunteer) Medics is an accredited British Association Immediate Care (BASICS) scheme, and has been supporting volunteer responding since January 2020. Over our first two years of operating, we responded to 178 requests for critical care.

2021

Drop us a line!

We would love to hear from you if you would like to support us in some way. From making a donation, to sharing your story if you were treated by one of our volunteer doctors; please get in touch.

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