18 Feb 2025
In the last month of 2024, our advanced trauma team – who are dispatched by one of our paramedics situated in the London Ambulance Service control room in Waterloo – treated 152 patients.
In terms of mechanism of injury, falls resulted in the most patients during December: 29 patients (19 per cent). Assault resulted in 27 patients (18 per cent), transport-related injuries 26 patients (17 per cent), medical injuries 23 (15 per cent) and accidents 17 (11 per cent). There were also 30 patients who had other or unknown injuries (20 per cent).
After our crew have stabilised the patient and are ready to accompany them in an LAS road ambulance, they will usually be taken to the nearest major trauma centre. In this month, 43 patients were taken to The Royal London Hospital (42 per cent), 28 patients were taken to St Mary’s (27 per cent), 14 to King’s College (14 per cent) and 11 to St George’s (11 per cent).
We serve the area within the M25, 24/7, 365 days a year. During December 2024, it was the borough of Southwark that we visited the most, followed by Ealing, Lambeth, Tower Hamlets and Westminster.
Arriving on scene, our team bring the emergency department to the patient, as they do not have enough time to get to hospital. Treating these individuals at the roadside during December included administering 33 rapid sequence intubations, 16 blood transfusions, three thoracotomies (open chest surgery) alongside other vital interventions.
On average, our teams are called to five critically injured people every day. But we’re a charity, with 95% of our funding reliant on public support and can only reach them thanks to you.
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