MISSION MONDAY

Weekends tend to be the busiest days of the week for The Air Ambulance Service as people go out and about enjoying different activities rather staying holed up in an office.

Every Monday we’ll be bringing you a roundup of some the missions that we have attended over the weekend and any ones of particular interest from the previous week.

Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA)

WNAA, aka Helimed 53, airlifted a 14-year-old girl to University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) after she fell from a horse in Southam on Saturday. Equestrian accidents make up approximately 11% of our missions with horse riding accidents often requiring an Air Ambulance call out because a helicopter can lead to a more stable journey – crucial if the casualty is suffering back injuries.

A more unusual incident was one WNAA attended on Saturday morning – they were called to a stabbing in Coventry. The casualty was suffering from a laceration to his face and WNAA assisted with the treatment of him. A WNAA paramedic then travelled with the casualty in a land ambulance to UHCW.

WNAA attended an incident in Leicestershire on Saturday when a car came off the race track at Bruntingthorpe, injuring three people. WNAA treated two of the casualties, providing pain relief and immobilising them – with all three patients being conveyed to hospital by land ambulance.

Sister service Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance were on another rescue at the time, hence WNAA’s call out to Leicestershire. This is a perfect example of how the two Air Ambulances can work in tangent together.

Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA)

So what have DLRAA, also known as Helimed 54, been up to over the last week?

On Monday they were called to attend a casualty who had suffered head injuries after falling from a step ladder in Stamford. Although the casualty, a 52-year-old male, initially seemed alert, his condition began to deteriorate. DLRAA had a doctor on board and so were able to put the casualty into a medical coma to stop his condition deteriorating further. They then flew him to UHCW for specialist treatment and surgery.

This is just one type of advanced medical procedure that our on board doctors can perform at the scene of accidents – improving a patient’s chances of survival and recovery.

Over the weekend, DLRAA attended another step ladder incident, this time in Coalville.

They also airlifted a motorcyclist who had broken his leg while participating in an off road Motocross event.

For further details on all of these rescues plus others that we have attended in the past, please visit our websites by following the links on the right.