[guide.chat] Air Ambulances to carry Blood to save lives
- From: "Carol O'Connor" <missbossyboots33@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "guide chat" <guide.chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2012 08:46:06 -0000
Air ambulance first in UK to carry blood. By Neil Bowdler Health reporter, BBC
News
London's Air Ambulance is based during the day on top of the new premises of
the Royal London Hospital The air ambulance will carry O-negative which can be
transfused safely into any patient
Related Stories.
London's Air Ambulance is carrying blood supplies from Tuesday - the first such
service in the UK to do so.
The innovation has been made possible due to a new refrigeration unit used by
the British and American military.
It will allow blood transfusions to be administered on the scene of accidents,
rather than later in hospitals.
London's Air Ambulance believes hundreds of lives could be saved, and regional
services are looking to follow suit.
"Start Quote.
I think for about 250 patients a year, we're going to give them a better chance
of survival by carrying blood"End Quote Dr Anne Weaver London's Air Ambulance
The service also had to assure the authorities that precious blood stocks could
be kept safely and that they could be tracked adequately beyond the confines of
the hospital.
"I really believe that us carrying blood routinely is going to make a big
difference to many of our patients," Dr Anne Weaver, lead clinician with the
service, told BBC News.
"We attend about 90 patients a year who are bleeding to death when we get to
them.
"About 160 patients don't actually make it to hospital on top of that 90, so I
think for about 250 patients we're going to give them a better chance of
survival by carrying the blood with us to scene."
The blood is kept in a "golden hour" box, which can keep four units of
O-negative blood (which can be transfused into any patient) at a steady 4C for
up to 72 hours. Unused blood can be returned to hospital stores, so no stocks
are wasted.
Dr Anne Weaver of London's Air Ambulance shows how the blood is carried
"We're going to recirculate the blood back into the hospital where it will be
used. It's emergency blood which is a precious resource and we do rely on
people giving blood to make sure we don't ever run out of it."
Blood will also now be carried by London's Air Ambulance's rapid response
vehicles, which operate by day and at night when the helicopter cannot fly.
Zane Perkins, a trauma surgeon who works both in the air and on the ground with
the service, says transfusing blood on the scene can transform pre-hospital
care.
"About half of people with traumatic injuries who die, die from bleeding," he
said. "Often stopping the bleeding can only be done in hospital, but one of the
ways to buy yourself time is to replace the blood they're losing. I think
carrying blood is a great step forward."
Last year, London's Air Ambulance treated 2,059 patients, of which some 716
involved road traffic accidents and 571 involved stabbings or shootings. Falls
accounted for 456 cases attended. The service is a charity, like all other air
ambulance services in the UK.
The Association of Air Ambulances which represents air ambulances throughout
England and Wales, welcomed the development.
Blood will also now be carried on the service's rapid response cars which
operate day and night Blood will also now be carried on the service's rapid
response cars which operate day and night
Dr Ramzi Freij, association spokesman and medical director for air ambulance
services based in Kent and Essex, said London had the advantage of a helipad on
top of the Royal London Hospital, which made access to and monitoring of blood
supplies easier.
Other air ambulance services, which carry paramedics more commonly than
doctors, would also have to seek permission for the paramedics to conduct blood
transfusions.
Nevertheless, Kent and Essex, who carry doctors, were now looking at carrying
blood and other blood products such as plasma and platelets, with the plan to
hold the blood supplies at their base.
"It will save lives. Our work is about saving critically injured people, people
who are haemorrhaging either from gunshot injuries, road traffic accidents or
stabbings, where replacing like with like is really crucial," he said.
He said carrying blood could save lives both in the cities where violent crime
is more common, and in rural areas, where ferrying patients back to hospitals
for emergency transfusions and treatment can take too much time.Rare service
Very few air ambulance services carry blood on-board around the world. The US
and British military carry blood on their rescue helicopters, while civilian
services in Australia have carried blood for some years.
"We have blood storage refrigerators at six of our bases," said Dr Allan
MacKillop, chief medical officer with Australia's Careflight Group Queensland.
"The blood is taken on missions where it's use is likely, for example major
trauma, and transported in temperature-controlled blood shipper containers. If
the blood is not required it can generally be restored for future use.
"The shipper has a digital temperature logger which is downloaded after each
mission to ensure safe storage conditions have been maintained."
Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service also has the capability of carrying
blood at selected bases.
Commenting on the launch of the new service in London, Mayor Boris Johnson
said: "London's Air Ambulance has an international reputation for pioneering
medical procedures which have been adopted around the world.
"It provides a great service across the capital and being able to carry blood
on board means the team will be able to save even more lives."
Other related posts:
- » [guide.chat] Air Ambulances to carry Blood to save lives - Carol O'Connor
