More lives to be saved at the roadside - North West Air Ambulances now carry blood on board for transfusions

The organisation’s three helicopters and four critical care cars now carry blood stocks on board with them, meaning that blood transfusions can take place at the scene of an accident.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast news, Andy Curran, NWAA’s medical director, said: “It means we will be able to give blood to patients at the roadside and as we’re taking them to hospital. The key thing is that it means that wherever we’re arriving or which of our teams go out, we’ll be able to give this life-saving treatment to patients as soon as possible.”

This is how NWAA saved the life of a 12-year-old girl in Longton

The blood-on-board service is part of a range of improvements the charity is keen on making. Other improvements planned include:

• Soon increasing the availability of the evening car service – from two to seven nights per week.
• New helicopter updates, which allow crews to fly more effectively, whilst carrying an extra 115kg of weight.
• Bespoke medical fit interiors in helicopters to improve access and functionality for both crew and patients
• Extra training anf an investment in advanced medical equipment, allowing crews to offer pre-hospital care to those in the most critical of situations
• Additional staff for both the clinical operation and charitable fundraising.

But to do this, the North West Air Ambulance Charity needs £18 million annually. To donate, visit: https://donate.nwairambulance.org.uk/

Latest figures

The North West Air Ambulance Charity was called to more than 3,000 missions across the North West in 2023, including, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria - it’s busiest year to date.

The lifesaving charity provides enhanced pre-hospital care to the most critically ill and injured patients across the five-county region, an area covering 5,500 square miles.

The Charity was called to the most incidents inGreater Manchester, totalling 1148 callouts from January 1 to December 31. The Charity’s confirmed figures showed cardiac arrest and medical incidents accounted for over 950 callouts for the year, with road traffic collisions at 780 and accidental injuries at 680.