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Doctors and paramedics at Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance have performed nearly 70 emergency blood transfusions since the service was first launched a year ago today (February 4th).
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 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.
Air Ambulance 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 scene and en route to the Royal London Hospital major trauma centre.
Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance last year became one of the first in the country to start carrying blood.
Every day, bikers at 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.
“We are proud to have played our part using equipment funded by The Henry Surtees Foundation to ensure that the people of the three counties have been able to receive the highest standards of critical care available, provided by a triumvirate of charities working together with a common goal.”
The Henry Surtees Foundation also supplied cars for the blood runs in addition to equipment used to store blood at the correct temperature and warm it to give to patients.
John Surtees, OBE, founder of the Foundation, said: “I spent a lifetime in motorsport where every second counts. The same factor plays a vital part in saving life and injury.
“The Henry Surtees Foundation was very happy to work with all the team at the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance in assisting with the introduction of the blood transfusion service.”
* If you would like to make a donation to the Air Ambulance please call 01622 833833 or go to http://www.kssairambulance.org.uk
Medway Trading Standards are urging residents to draw up a list of traders they might need in a home emergency situation well before disaster strikes.
Posing as a consumer with a home emergency, the Medway Council team are conducting weekly online checks of more than 400 web links of nine types of home emergency trades from blocked drains to locksmiths.
Their websites are checked to see if response times have been exaggerated and if traders claiming to be local are genuinely based in the Medway area.
But despite searching for local traders officers found that only around 16 per cent were actually based in the Medway area with some being as far away as North Wales.
Several traders are also subject to further investigation for falsely advertising they were members of trade associations that they do not belong to including gas and electrical safety schemes. More
Residents are invited to attend a meeting to discuss the emergency plans for the Isle of Grain.
The meeting will take place on Monday, 12 September at 7.30pm at The Village Hall, Chapel Road, Grain.
Representatives from the Health and Safety Executive, Medway Council, Kent Police, Kent Fire & Rescue Service and the Grain LNG Terminal will be on hand to answer resident’s questions.
Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Customer Contact Mike O’Brien said: “This meeting is an opportunity for the residents of Grain to have an open discussion with key personnel about the emergency plan for their village.
“I would encourage anyone who has an interest in this to attend the meeting and hear from the various agencies about how we can all work together.”
