Air Ambulance Industry News

Woman airlifted to hospital
after collision with a car

This is the dramatic moment a woman was airlifted to hospital after a car crashed into her as she walked through in Sutton Coldfield yesterday.

The Midlands Air Ambulance from Cosford came to the rescue of the victim and landed at the junction of Mere Green Road and Lichfield Road at 12.20pm.

Police feared the woman, who suffered cuts to her head, face and knee and hurt her stomach, could have died.

She was confused and agitated as crews lifted her onto a spinal board, then flew her to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Traffic came to a standstill as police closed roads including Lichfield Road, Mere Green Road, Butlers Lane and Four Oaks Road.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said: “The female pedestrian was air lifted to hospital in a life threatening condition.

“A number of roads were closed after the collision including Lichfield Road, Mere Green Road, Butlers Lane and Four Oaks Road.”

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “She was flown to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.”

14th February 2011

Canadian stranded in Cuba with broken back

A trip to Cuba has become a hellish experience for Canadian Daniel Baril, who is stranded in a small village with a broken back after he fell while mountain climbing nearly a month ago.

Baril’s Quebec insurance company refuses to pay for an air ambulance out of the Caribbean country, forcing his family and friends to raise the $25,000 bill by themselves.

14th February 2011

Premature twins airlifted to hospital in Somerset

An air ambulance was called in to perform medical flight with a mother and her newborn twins to hospital after she went into premature labour at her home.

Great Western Ambulance Service's aircraft flew in to help colleagues from South Western Ambulance Service when serious complications arose during the home birth.

The air ambulance flew to Shepton Mallet, Somerset, at around 8.20am on Saturday 22nd January 2011.

Mother and babies were treated at the scene before being taken to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton and are now doing well.

24th January 2011

Air ambulance to take toddler who survives window fall in Westbury

A baby girl has been taken by air ambulance to Bristol Children’s Hospital after she fell from a first floor window on to concrete at her home in Westbury on Saturday 22nd January 2011.

Great Western Ambulance Service received a 999 call shortly after 1pm reporting the incident and an ambulance crew was on scene within five minutes.

The crew reported that the 21-month-old toddler had fallen approximately 20 ft and had external injuries to her ribs and back.

However they were concerned she might have suffered more serious internal injuries so requested back-up from the air support unit.

The child was said to be in a lot of pain and was in a repeated cycle of screaming then going quiet and unresponsive.

The Filton-based Great Western Air Ambulance – with critical-care paramedic and doctor on board – arrived on scene at 1.40pm. They assessed the little girl before deciding to perform the aero-medical flight with her and her mother to Bristol Children’s Hospital for further treatment, including a CT scan.

They arrived at the hospital at 2.30pm and the toddler is believed to be in a stable condition.

24th January 2011

Air Ambulance to take a mudslide trapped man

Emergency services were called to the boarding school at 0912 GMT on Tuesday, 18th January.
A man has been airlifted to hospital after being trapped in a mudslide at Benenden Girls' School in Cranbrook, Kent.

Firefighters from Kent Fire and Rescue Service's urban search and rescue team freed the man, who was trapped in mud from the knees down.

A fire service spokesman said paramedics assessed his injuries before he was flown to hospital by air ambulance.

It is believed he was trapped after a mudbank slid during excavation work.

19th January 2011

Air Ambulance to attend Hatton Cross collision

Three people died in a road collision outside Hatton Cross Underground Station in London this morning.
Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened at around 6am.

The London ambulance and air ambulance services also attended.

Two men - both occupants of the car - were pronounced dead at the scene.
The female driver of the car was taken to a central London hospital where she subsequently died.
The fourth passenger, a man, has been taken to a south London hospital but is not believed to be seriously injured.
The driver of the van was not injured.

17th January 2011

Fatal collision in Coaley

Police are investigating a fatal road traffic collision in Coaley that happened at the weekend.

The collision happened at approximately 12.30pm on Saturday, January 15 on Peter’s Street in Coaley and involved a van towing a trailer and a cyclist.

The cyclist, a 67-year-old woman from Berkeley, was taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol by air ambulance but died a few hours later.

17th January 2011

Two children airlifted to and from UK

Two sick children were transported via air ambulance to and from King’s Cross Hospital in London over the past 24 hours by the Air Corps.

The first child was taken from Crumlin Hospital to Casement Aerodrome where an air ambulance Learjet was waiting. The air ambulance took off at 10.30pm last night and arrived in London Heathrow an hour later where the child was transferred to hospital by land ambulance.

The air ambulance crew remained in position in London and carried a second child home to Dublin this afternoon.

12th January 2011

Air ambulance comes to aid of heart attack victim in Taverham

An East Anglian Air Ambulance crew called to the assistance of a 37-year-old man who suffered a heart attack at a care home in Taverham.

The crew responded to the call by road in a rapid response vehicle since the home was close to its base at Norwich Airport.

Its medical team of a doctor and critical care paramedicworked with the road ambulance crews to provide full advanced life support treatment to the patient, who had suffered a previous medical emergency and was receiving treatment at the care home.

They then accompanied him to hospital in a road ambulance where his condition on arrival was life-threatening.

East Anglian Air Ambulance operates two air ambulances 365 days per year, across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.

12th January 2011

Air Ambulance called to cyclist crash

A cyclist was last night in hospital with serious head injuries after a morning cycle ride to celebrate the opening of a new headquarters in Bury St Edmunds.

Members of the West Suffolk Wheelers and Triathlon Club had been riding through the county on Monday 3rd January after hosting the official opening of its new headquarters in Bury St Edmunds.

However, as more than 24 riders embarked on the “celebratory” trip which passed through Little Saxham, near Bury, three cyclists collided with each other. Emergency services, including an air ambulance, were called to the scene in the village at 11.55am yesterday.

4th January 2011

Cyclist taken to hospital by Air Ambulance

Three people were taken to hospital after a crash on Anglesey, the biker by air ambulance.

Emergency crews, including the Wales air ambulance helicopter, were called to the scene of the accident at Treban Crossroads, at the Bryngwran Road junction near Rhosneigr, at about 1.40pm yesterday.

The smash involved two cars and a motorcycle.

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesman said the biker, a man in his 40s, was taken by air ambulance helicopter to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor by the Wales Air Ambulance crew.

4th January 2011

Man, 88, taken by air ambulance after fall

An elderly Machynlleth man had to be taken by air ambulance to hospital in Shrewsbury when heavy snowfall prevented land ambulance services from reaching him after he suffered a fall at his home on Saturday morning (18th December).

The air ambulance was called at around 10.15am after a land ambulance crew were unable to reach him. The air ambulance arrived at 10.35am and left at 10.55am, arriving at hospital in Shrewsbury at 11.15am.

Extreme weather conditions hit residents in Machynlleth and Llanidloes this week, with up to 20 inches of snow and daytime temperatures of minus 17 degrees celsius being recorded in some areas.

22nd December 2010

Air Ambulance Rescue in Canada

A 15-year-old boy was transported to a Calgary hospital by air ambulance following an incident at the Nakiska Resort in Canada around 5 p.m. on 20th December.

It is said the individual was snowboarding and wearing a helmet at the time of the incident, but it is not know at the moment in greater detail what occurred. It is not known whether the teenager was from the local area.

The Nakiska Resort is located approximately 80 kilometres west of Calgary, Canada.

21st December 2010

New research carried out by the Foreign Office reveals that almost a third (31 percent) of people in the UK don't take out travel insurance for their ski holidays. The Foreign Office is warning skiers that they risk huge medical bills by not taking out cover.

The FCO says, "If you are injured whilst skiing or snowboarding, you could face a bill for thousands of pounds if you're not properly insured. A helicopter ambulance and medical repatriation could cost you many times the price of your holiday. You should always get comprehensive travel insurance and check exactly what is covered in the small print. For example, you may need extra cover if you want to ski off-piste."

Breaking your leg in the Italian Alps could cost you more than £4,000.00 and a spinal injury in France around £6,400.00. If you're injured in a more remote location, like Argentina, costs can be as much as £23,000.00.

20th December 2010

Air Ambulance rescue in Lancashire

North West Air Ambulance had to rescue a 39-year-old man who fell in icy conditions near Charnock Richard, Chorley, Lancashire, in England. It's understood the victim, who has not been named, fell in dense woodland.

The Mountain Rescue Team were on scene and carried the patient to the helicopter ready for transfer.

The patient was then taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital in seven mins for treatment on an ankle injury.

20th December 2010

Air ambulance lands in car park

The Devon Air Ambulance landed in a car park in the centre of Exmouth, East Devon

Shoppers looked on in surprise as an air ambulance landed in a busy town centre car park yesterday after a man was found dead slumped behind the door of a house.

The Devon Air Ambulance made a precision landing in the snow-covered London Inn car park at Exmouth.

Cars continued to drive in and out of the car park, behind the Magnolia shopping centre, while the aircraft was on the ground.

The helicopter was called at around 10.45am after the man was discovered at a house in Church Street, opposite the Royal Mail depot near the car park.

18th December 2010