I don’t think I appreciated how important an air ambulance could be until I moved to Wales. Before you say it, no, the people are not more accident prone than their English neighbours! The geography of the country, mountains, hills and valleys and the widely scattered population means that having the facility to airlift a patient direct to hospital can really save hours and lives.
The aim of the Wales Air Ambulance is to reach, treat and transport patients with the greatest possible speed. Any one of the three helicopters in service can be airborne within three minutes of receiving an emergency call for assistance. It is this response speed that is crucial to the patient’s chances of survival. It is known that if they receive the right care within the first hour of incident, otherwise known as the Golden Hour, the patient’s chances of survival and early recovery are increased. The quick response times and the expert medical care provided by the Wales Air Ambulance crews across Wales ensure that this Golden Hour is achieved every time.
The Wales Air Ambulance was launched by Prince Charles at Swansea Airport on St David’s Day 2001 with a single Bolkow Bo 105 helicopter operated by Bond Air Services. In its first year of operation Wales Air Ambulance was sponsored by the AA and the Bo 105 was seen in the AA’s distinctive yellow corporate livery, initially working as a five day service.
In April 2001 a paramedic was based with the North Wales police helicopter to expedite medical assistance to those who were in need. In June 2002 the Swansea service was expanded to seven days and the helicopter was painted in patriotic red and green livery.
In 2003 a second Bo 105 was added and was based in North Wales at Caernarfon airport, initially operating a five day service with two days covered by the police helicopter. Increased fund raising saw this reach a full seven day service in November 2003.
During the summer of 2006 a third Bo 105 was based in mid Wales at Welshpool to cover the busy holiday period and this was made a permanent five day service on January 1st 2007. In June 2007 the daily operational hours of the fleet were increased to ten hours a day and with three aircraft it meant that any part of Wales could be reached within twenty minutes. All three aircraft are nowavailable 365 days of the year.
During 2008 a £1 Appeal, backed by several Welsh stars, was launched to upgrade to new generation helicopters in line with the Civil Aviation Authority legislation. The Eurocopter EC135T2+ was chosen to replace the Bo 105 fleet and these aircraft would again be leased and operated by Bond Air Services. The EC135 is bigger, faster, more fuel efficient and has state of the art avionics including the ability for night flying. Air paramedic Aneurin Heath describes some of the everyday benefits the EC135 has brought to their work: “Careful consideration was given to the interior design and the location of each piece of medical equipment used to treat patients onboard,” he says. “The aircraft is smoother and more comfortable for patients, and there is more room for the paramedics to work. The extra seat is making hospital transfers easier and it’s reassuring that a parent can now accompany their child.”
The first EC135 was introduced at the south base of Swansea in April 2009, not long after the Wales Air Ambulance had attended their 10,000th mission. A second EC135 was added later that year replacing the Caernarfon Bo 105, with the remaining Welshpool based Bo 105 to be upgraded when funding is in place.
In 2009 the Wales Air Ambulance won the title of Air Ambulance of the Year at the national Health Business Awards. Chief Executive Angela Hughes said: “Wales Air Ambulance winning this award is recognition of the wonderful support from the people of Wales to the charity, and the numerous lives saved by the rapid response of our aircrews.”
In 2010 the Wales Air Ambulance received two awards, the prestigious Air Ambulance Team Award 2010 and the Gail Williams Award for Clinical and Operational Excellence for a life saving mission following a gas explosion at a factory in Bridgend. Crew member Gareth Williams explains: “The patient sustained life-threatening leg injuries and the ambulance crew on the ground knew the seriousness of his condition straight away. That’s when we got the call. “I remember the weather had been bad all day and we were close to wrapping up and putting the helicopter away for the night. But once we received the information we were in the air and on scene within minutes.
“The patient needed to get to microsurgery at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, quickly, but by road he would have needed to be stabilised at a local hospital first and then transferred hours later – time we couldn’t afford to lose.” Following the initial 999 call the aircraft was in the air two minutes later to the scene of the accident. On landing, the paramedics on board assisted those already on the scene so the patient was able to fly and continued administering treatment in flight. The helicopter touched down at Morriston Hospital just 34 minutes from the original call, this reaction speed and treatment administered by the crews undoubtedly help to save the patient’s life.
To celebrate its tenth anniversary the Wales Air Ambulance held a public event at Margam Park where the public, supporters and former patients were able to see for the first time all three Wales Air Ambulance helicopters together. Bond Air Services had supplied a reserve helicopter and crew so that emergency cover was available should it be needed.
Chief executive Angela Hughes said: “This really is an extraordinary achievement for Wales Air Ambulance. We were the last region in Europe to have air ambulance cover, but it has since grown to be one of the busiest operations. None of this could have been achieved without whole-hearted support from the public, so we welcome everyone to see the helicopters they have so passionately helped over the last ten years.”
Charity Chairman Bob Palmer added: “Wales Air Ambulance is a very unique charity in the UK, providing air cover for an entire country over hugely diverse terrain. It is also unique in the level of passion and patriotism felt by all those that support the cause, from communities to businesses. We look forward to another ten years of helping the People of Wales.”
Chris Greenhill, Managing Director of Bond Air Services said: "We are immensely proud to be associated with the Wales Air Ambulance and the hard work and dedication that they continually demonstrate. March 1st 2011 marks a significant milestone for our partnership and we at Bond wish to congratulate the team on their 10th birthday and wish them continued success for many years to come.”
Wales Air Ambulance is an all Wales charity, and it’s thanks to the very generous public donations that the service has been able to expand over the last ten years. The cost of running the service is approximately £15,000 per day, equating to a staggering £5 million per year, all of which has to be paid for by donations. As a registered charity WAA does not receive any financial assistance from the National Lottery or the government. To find out more about the Wales Air Ambulance and how you can help to support them visit http://www.walesairambulance.com or follow them on Twitter @air_ambulance
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