4 Apr 2024
This month, Dr. Anne Weaver celebrates her 20th anniversary working for London’s Air Ambulance, a career that has seen her establish herself as one of the UK's foremost female pre-hospital care doctors.
A trailblazer in her field, Anne has served as an inspiration for hundreds of medical professionals that have followed in her steps over the last two decades and is still operating on the frontline of London’s trauma network to this day.
Anne’s career has been notable for a number of firsts, becoming the youngest female doctor to become a helicopter emergency medicine Consultant in the UK in 2004 and going on to be London’s Air Ambulance’s first female Lead Clinician in 2007.
As well as her work in the field, Anne has played a key role in establishing infrastructure and driving innovation in the wider sector of pre-hospital medicine. She co-founded the first pre-hospital care programme in the UK for medical students, helping to educate the next generation and was pivotal in the introduction of blood on board. Introduced in 2012 under Anne’s direction, this pioneering initiative marked the first instance in the UK where blood could be transported in an air ambulance, enabling life-saving transfusions for patients at the scene, significantly enhancing their chances of survival.
Anne’s commitment to innovation continues to this day, playing a key role in the ongoing SWIFT trial. Along with colleagues at NHSBT and other air ambulances nationwide, the trial examines how changes to the type of blood carried by trauma teams can help improve patient outcomes.
After 20 years of outstanding service, Anne has the gratitude of everyone at London’s Air Ambulance Charity and its operational partners across Barts NHS Health Trust and London Ambulance Service. Everyone in the team is looking forward to many more years working alongside her.
