23rd July 2010

On 23rd July 2010 local Air Ambulance, Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) received a call mid morning to attend a cyclist in Northampton who needed urgent care.
 
The 23 year old male, fell off his bike, whilst riding a steep decline and suffered a head injury.
 
The WNAA crew landed close to the patient, in the park near Thrapston, and quickly assessed him.  They made him more comfortable before air lifting him to Kettering General for further tests.
 
The Air Ambulance proved vital in not only providing a high standard of medical care quickly, but also in accessing the patient. Due to the difficult terrain and the remote location of the accident a land ambulance would have struggled to get to the patient.
 
For more information please log onto www.wnaa.co.uk
 
~ENDS~
For more information please contact
Kit Edwards
PR & Communications Manager, 
DD: 08454 130982/ mobile: 07545426035
 
 
Notes to Editors:

• WNAA is a registered charity, which receives no funding from the Lottery or Government and it costs the charity over £1.5million a year to keep the vital service operational and saving lives.
• WNAA uses an Agusta 109 Power; with a cruise speed just short of 200mph, the fastest civilian helicopter available.
• Enabling WNAA to quickly provide vital medical care on the scene often meaning the difference between life and death.
• The aircraft has the capability for a rapid start and shut-down sequence and can be airborne in about 45 seconds where some services can take around two minutes to warm up and the same to shut down.
• The crew provide intensive care to patients on scene and during flight.
• Rapidly responding to emergency 999 calls saving people who live, work or travel through our regions and beyond when needed.
• Currently serving a population of 1.2 million people across 2,200 square miles of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire.
• The additional skills of the crew can bring the hospital emergency department to the accident scene. e.g. normally a patient would only benefit from advanced analgesia and Anaesthetics in the A&E department, we have the skill set and resources to manage the patient on scene, for example, given a patient with an acute head trauma and suspected brain injury, we can manage the patient in an advanced manner, by Anaesthetising on scene, we control the patients environment by managing airway, controlling blood pressure and adequately oxygenating the brain. This is only one example where early intervention can make the difference between life and death.