16 Jul 2024
In May 2024, London’s Air Ambulance’s advanced trauma team – which brings the hospital to the roadside – attended to 177 patients. This is 25 more patients than the previous month.
These individuals were so critically injured that they did not have time to get to hospital. Treating them on scene therefore included providing 31 rapid sequence intubations, 20 blood transfusions, six thoracotomies (open chest surgery) and more. Some of these procedures only our crew can do on scene in London.
Our team are operational 24/7, 365 days a year and attend to anywhere within the M25. During this month, we attended to the boroughs of Haringey and Lambeth more than anywhere else, followed by Westminster.
Once we have stabilised the patient on the roadside, the usual practice is for our medics to accompany them to the nearest major trauma centre in a road ambulance. Fifty-eight patients (45 per cent) were taken to The Royal London Hospital this month, 31 patients (24 per cent) to St Mary’s Hospital, 21 (16 per cent) to St George’s Hospital and 16 (12 per cent) to King’s College Hospital. Three patients were flown back – two to The Royal London and one to St George’s – which is a very rare occurrence.
Assault was the mechanism of injury for most of the patients this month, resulting in 47 patients (27 per cent). Transport-related injuries resulted in 31 patients (18 per cent), falls resulted in 25 (14 per cent), medical-related injuries 18 (10 per cent) and accidents 15 (eight per cent). Unknown and other mechanisms resulted in 41 patients (23 per cent).
If you’d like to read April’s mission report to compare statistics, you can do so here.
Our crew are here for the 10 million who visit, live and work in London. But we are a charity, with 96% of our funding reliant on public support. By September this year, we need to have raised an additional £15 million to replace our two helicopters: time is running out. Can you help support us today?