10 May 2023
In February 2023, our crew – consisting of both doctors and paramedics – attended to 167 critically injured individuals in London.
Trauma can happen to anyone at any time, and we are there for the 10 million people who visit, live and work in London, 365 days a year. This month, the most common mechanism of injury was assault, resulting in 51 patients (31 per cent). Transport – including road traffic incidents – resulted in 33 patients (20 per cent), accidents 22 patients (13 per cent), falls from height 22 patients (13 per cent), medical injuries 22 patients (13 per cent) and other mechanisms 17 patients (10 per cent).
Treating these patients – bringing the emergency department to the roadside – included administering 29 ultrasounds, 24 intubations, 10 blood transfusions and five femoral arterial lines. We are the only ones in London who can do some of these procedures at the scene of an incident.
Half of our patients (50 per cent) were brought back to The Royal London Hospital, 20 per cent were taken to St Mary’s, 15 per cent to King’s College Hospital and six per cent to St George’s. This month saw us carry two patients back to The Royal London Hospital by air – something that does not occur often, as our purpose on dispatch is not as a ferrying service.
Greenwich and Westminster witnessed the most dispatches during February, with Camden, Enfield and Redbridge all second most visited. Earlier this month we realised our mission statistics for the year of 2022 – please read this report here: in total, we attended to 1,977 patients.
Our current helicopters are becoming harder to maintain with age and need replacing. As a charity, we need to raise £15 million by 2024 to do just that. Can you support us and help fund your new fleet?