11 Aug 2023
In June 2023, our advanced trauma team attended to 171 critically injured patients in London.
We serve the whole area within the M25 365 days a year, 24/7 and can arrive by helicopter within 11 minutes. During this month, the most visited boroughs were Brent, Camden and Southwark.
We bring the emergency department to the scene – we’re the only ones who can perform open chest surgery (thoracotomy), provide blood transfusions and induce comas on scene in London. In June, we performed 31 rapid sequence intubations, 19 blood transfusions, eight femoral arterials lines, seven thoracotomies and more at the roadside: giving our patients the best chance of survival.
Once stabilised, the patient is usually transported by a road ambulance to a major trauma centre. The Royal London Hospital received 46 of our patients (37 per cent) this month, St Mary’s Hospital received 33 patients (27 per cent), King’s College Hospital 29 (24 per cent) and St George’s Hospital 13 (11 per cent). We also flew one patient back to The Royal London Hospital and one to the major trauma centre in Brighton – these are rare occurrences.
Assault was the most common mechanism of injury in June, resulting in 50 patients (29 per cent). Transport-related injuries resulted in 30 patients (18 per cent), falls from height 24 patients (14 per cent), medical injuries 17 (10 per cent) and accidents 14 (eight per cent). We also attended to 36 patients (21 per cent) who had other or unknown mechanisms of injury.
If you’re interested in how these figures compare to the previous month, you can read May’s mission report here.
London’s Air Ambulance delivers life-saving pre-hospital care for London’s most critically injured. But we’re a charity, with 96 per cent of our funding reliant on public support. Can you help us continue to be there for London? Support our Up Against Time appeal today, to ensure we can replace our helicopters before they reach the end of their lifespan in autumn 2024.