22 Oct 2013
Commenting on the news of London's second helipad at St George’s Hospital London, Dr Gareth Davies, Medical Director and Chair of the London’s Air Ambulance charity, said: “London’s Air Ambulance is a London charity that delivers advanced trauma care to critically injured patients when minutes are vital to survival.
“A second helipad at St George’s will be beneficial for surrounding county air ambulances, which may need to deliver seriously injured patients to a London Major Trauma Centre, but will not have a significant impact on London’s Air Ambulance activity or operations.
St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust and The Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads (HELP) Appeal announced that formal planning permission has been granted to develop an onsite helipad at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, South West London.
“Our helicopter is primarily used to deliver a senior trauma doctor and paramedic to the patient’s side within minutes. At night we use rapid response vehicles to deliver this care as it is too dangerous to land in London. Our teams provide life saving procedures, including open chest surgery, blood transfusion and anaesthesia on scene before the patient reaches hospital. The timing of these treatments can not only make the difference between whether a patient lives or dies, but whether they go on to lead a normal, healthy life.
“There are four Major Trauma Centres in London and once the medical team have stabilised the patient they usually escort them in a land ambulance, provided by the London Ambulance Service.”