Commendations for WAA paramedics
Two Wiltshire Air Ambulance paramedics have received awards for their actions in saving the life of a teenager. Clinical team leader Richard Miller and paramedic Ross Culligan received the Chief Officer’s Commendation for actions above and beyond the call of duty in treating Dylan Jones.
Two Wiltshire Air Ambulance paramedics have received awards for their actions in saving the life of a teenager. Clinical team leader Richard Miller and paramedic Ross Culligan received the Chief Officer’s Commendation for actions above and beyond the call of duty in treating Dylan Jones.
Eighteen-year-old Jones suffered severe injuries when his motorcycle was struck by a car on a country road on 6 August 2012. The first (ground) ambulance crew on the scene found him to be suffering from a severed trachea and oesophagus and a lacerated jugular vein. The crew began life-saving treatment and, despite his injuries, the rider was conscious.
The Wiltshire Air Ambulance (WAA) with Miller and Culligan onboard flew to the scene in 15 minutes and they, together with other medical responders, spent 40 minutes treating Jones. He was flown to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where he underwent a nine-hour operation and spent three months in hospital.
Air ambulance pilot Andrew Figg also received a Chief Officer’s Commendation, as did the members of the ground ambulance team.
Miller has been an air ambulance paramedic for nine years while Culligan has been an air ambulance paramedic for two years. Miller commented: “It was very nice to be nominated for the award. It sounds cheesy, but we were just doing our job that night. Dylan’s injuries were among the worst I have seen.”
Jones and his family have visited the WAA base in Devizes to thank the crew and see the helicopter. They are now raising money for the charity by taking part in the Oxford Half Marathon.
Image: WAA clinical team leader Richard Miller (left) and paramedic Ross Culligan (courtesy WAA)