Patients benefit from KSSAA blood service
Doctors and paramedics at Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance (KSSAA) have performed nearly 70 emergency blood transfusions since the service was first launched a year ago
Doctors and paramedics at Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance (KSSAA) have performed nearly 70 emergency blood transfusions since the service was first launched a year ago. Figures show that during the last 12 months, the advanced medical procedure – usually performed after a patient arrives at hospital – was carried out 69 times at the scene of an accident or medical emergency. The UK helicopter charity’s research shows that a total of 160 units of blood were administered to patients who had life-threatening injuries, with 20-29 year-olds being the largest group of recipients.
Clinical manager Gary Wareham, who pioneered the launch of the blood transfusion service, said: “The project has gone very much as we expected, and we are now seeing patients delivered to hospital who may not have survived the journey before. We are now considering using other blood products that may further improve patient outcomes.”
The figures also show that August was the peak period for blood transfusions, the youngest patient being aged under 10 and the oldest over 90. In one case, a patient suffered chest, pelvis and spinal injuries following a collision with a car. His airway was partially obstructed and he was agitated. The doctor and paramedic anaesthetised him at the road-side and performed emergency chest surgery to reinflate his collapsed lungs. They then administered four units of blood at the scene and while en route to the Royal London Hospital major trauma centre.
The KSSAA last year became one of the first in the UK to start carrying blood. Every day, motorcycle riders from the Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers (SERV) deliver eight fresh units to each of the helicopter bases from the William Harvey Hospital at Ashford and East Surrey Hospital at Redhill.
SERV secretary Mel Johnson said: “The air ambulance has been a pleasure to work with over the last year. The daily replenishment and emergency re-supply services provided by the SERV groups in Kent and Surrey have helped ensure that both helicopters are always fully stocked and ready to respond.”