Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) is marking ten years since introducing emergency blood transfusions to its pre-hospital critical care service – a development which has helped save hundreds of lives across the region.
Recognising and thanking those who have enabled 10 years of emergency blood
transfusions for DSAA – in attendance were DSAA team members, representatives from
Dorset County Hospital past and present, volunteers from Devon Freewheelers and
Louise Biggs, her husband and young family.
Since blood components were first carried by the charity in 2016, 473 patients have received transfusions before reaching hospital, allowing specialist teams to begin life-saving treatment at the roadside, in remote rural locations and in patients’ homes.
Severe bleeding following trauma or acute illness remains one of the most time-critical medical emergencies. DSAA says the ability to begin transfusions immediately can mean the difference between a patient surviving long enough to reach hospital or not surviving the journey at all.
The initiative was developed through collaboration between Dorset County Hospital, NHS Blood and Transplant, Devon Freewheelers, the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and the Henry Surtees Foundation.
To mark the milestone, the charity hosted an event at its airbase bringing together clinicians, operational staff and partner organisations involved in developing and delivering the service over the past decade. Among those attending was Louise Biggs and her family, who shared their experience of requiring a pre-hospital blood transfusion immediately before giving birth earlier this year.
Dr Phil Hyde, DSAA’s Medical Director, said: ‘To have this life-saving resource available to us is a gift from society. It gives our clinicians the ability and confidence to sustain patients with catastrophic bleeding long enough to get them to hospital for the ongoing emergency treatment they need.
Before we carried blood components, many of us remember holding the hands of patients who sadly died on the way to hospital. Within just seven days of launching in 2016, we delivered our first transfusion, demonstrating both the immediate need and the impact of this capability. Today, we are holding hands and seeing patients survive, going on to meet them, their families and even their children. This is truly life-changing, both for our patients and for the clinicians delivering their care.
A blood transfusion is a significant intervention, it’s literary a ‘liquid transplant’ from another person. It is complex and detailed work to safely enable blood transfusion outside of hospital and it requires an amazing network of colleagues across many agencies and charities to achieve it. We are so grateful to every member of this regional collaboration for enabling life chances for the people of Dorset and Somerset.’
The charity also paid tribute to blood donors, hospital teams and volunteer drivers at Devon Freewheelers who transport and rotate supplies around the clock.
The Dorset Life Community News section is sponsored by Wessex Internet
