Winter Newsletter 2016/17 | Thames Valley Air Ambulance

Winter 2016 - 2017

Inside this issue Read about Patient stories ...

A Welcome from New CEO Amanda McLean ...

Our Emergency Response vehicle ...

Welcome from Amanda Thank you from TVAA Chief Executive, Amanda McLean

From operations to communications and fundraising, Thames Valley Air Ambulance has had another fabulously busy year during 2016. As the demand on our air ambulance service increases, our fundraising efforts continue to grow.

You will see in this newsletter that we have achieved so much in 2016. Summer and autumn were again filled with fundraising events from Festivals, family days and shows to talks, Open Gardens and National Air Ambulance Week.

As the clocks change and we enter the winter months, our crews expect to be busier than ever. The night flying operations, introduced in January 2016 mean we can now fly in the hours of darkness, assisting with more life-threatening situations. Look out for us as we count down to Christmas and into the new year; our volunteers will be out and about, all raising vital funds and awareness!

The past year has seen the charity extend itself as one of the leading air ambulance services in the country. With new medical equipment enhancements and carrying life-saving Fresh Frozen Plasma (the vital clotting components of human blood) on board our helicopter and emergency response vehicle we are better equipped than ever to help save lives. And we don’t intend to stop there.

We continue to depend on you to help turn those plans into reality as we survive solely on charitable donations. Our supporters and volunteers have been absolutely incredible in helping us to plan for our future. With a network of passionate people, giving their time and skills to help us raise funds, we can be there for everyone – whenever and wherever they need us.

If you have any thoughts about the charity or ideas on how to support us, please email info@thamesvalleyairambulance.org.uk. Our team would love to hear from you.

On behalf of all of us at the charity and our air crew - Thank You. Without your support, Thames Valley Air Ambulance would not be able to operate.

Thanks to our former patients Our former patients support us in many different ways from volunteering, fundraising, sharing their stories, and even going to Parliament!

Steve’s story As a delivery driver Steve left his van to drop off a parcel. On returning to his van Steve saw that it was being stolen. His instant reaction was to try to stop the theft but instead the driver sped up and ran Steve over. He went under the van and under the back wheel, in his words; “I was like a real life sleeping policeman”.

Steve’s ribs had punctured both lungs, he had injuries to his spine and his pelvis was broken in 5 places. Steve’s chance of survival was not looking very promising. TVAA were first on scene, the team promptly agreed Steve had to be transported by helicopter so the crew gave him ketamine as pain relief before they moved him into a straighter position in order to transfer him.

Steve was given life-saving blood at the scene. His doctors said that he wouldn’t have survived the journey by road from the rural location to Milton Keynes never mind get to where he really needed to be; at the John Radcliffe major trauma unit.

He spent 7 weeks in hospital before starting on the long road to recovery which is still on-going to this day.

Steve is now a TVAA volunteer–“I am living proof of the amazing work they do! If it wasn’t for TVAA, I definitely wouldn’t be here today to tell my story.”

Georgie’s Story “All I remember was waking up in hospital and wondering where I was. I was 24 years old at the time.”

Georgie was on a shopping trip in Bicester Village with her boyfriend and said she felt dizzy, then suddenly she collapsed. Georgie had a cardiac arrest.

The ambulance service arrived quickly to give her two shocks to restart her heart, followed by CPR. TVAA arrived soon after, it was vital for Georgie to be induced into a coma and be put on life support. The expertise of the air ambulance crew was essential, as was the speed of the helicopter. Georgie was taken by air to the John Radcliffe Hospital within 10 minutes.

Georgie tells us; “I was informed of the severity of the cardiac arrest and how essential it is to have medical treatment as soon as possible. It was thanks to the expertise and advanced medical equipment that the air ambulance brought to the scene that I am not only alive today, but also have fully recovered months later with no brain damage.”

The Emergency Response Vehicle The Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) is one of the latest additions to our life-saving fleet.

Thanks to the ERV, our service is now more efficient and can reach more people in need.

Based at RAF Benson, the ERV is typically staffed by a Paramedic and a Doctor. Our crew are now in the fortunate position to be able to mobilise both the helicopter and the ERV at the same time.

The ERV is equipped with:

• minor wound kit

• portable ultrasonography

• major trauma kit

• portable blood gas analyser

• a variety of medications to allow for the discharge of patients at home, for advanced analgesia and sedation or for critical care prior to arriving in hospital

• Lucas automated CPR device • negative blood • fresh frozen plasma

We are always working to push the boundaries of medical intervention, and our ERV is vital in providing supervised training and experience to our doctors in their specialist field of PreHospital Emergency Medicine.

In the past year our ERV has attended 689 incidents at scene. This means that our doctors, paramedics and specialist equipment are reaching and treating far more patients than ever before.

Our work is about saving critically injured people

Our award-winning crew and night flying update!

Our pilots, doctors and paramedics fly until 2am, reaching more patients and ultimately saving more lives than ever before.

Since Spring of 2016 we have been working alongside Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) to introduce night-time operations across the whole of the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) region.

In the first 6 months, during spring and summer of 2016, we have attended over 21 emergencies in darkness.

A full range of life-saving equipment is carried on board, including two state of the art ultrasound devices, a blood transfusion kit and an immediate blood analyser, helping to shave off valuable seconds in the golden hour.

Both charities operate an Airbus H135 helicopter, equipped for night flying. The air ambulances, with specialist night-vision kit, enables our doctor-led crews to bring their lifesaving care to the most seriously ill or injured people by night as well as by day, meaning more lives can be saved across Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Our aviation partner, Babcock International, and their highly skilled air ambulance pilots are central to the service, ensuring the most effective coverage for the entire region, as well as the speed, safety and precision of the operation.

We are proud to have the ability to take our enhanced care doctor and paramedic teams out to the sickest of patients regardless of whether it is dark or not. For the first time in winter, we can keep flying regardless of what time of day it is.

Did you know!

Our night flying equipped G-TVAL can also carry a larger load over the same distance and has better fuel economy, which gives it a longer range – perfect for night flying!

Development of Plasma Trauma patients across the region benefit from a new life-saving medical approach introduced to TVAA. Since Spring 2016 our helicopter and emergency response vehicle both carry life-saving Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP), the vital clotting components of human blood. TVAA is one of very few air ambulance charities in the country to use FFP. Administered together with O Negative red blood cells (which have been carried on board since 2014) it is used in blood transfusions to patients suffering from severe blood loss.

TVAA Emergency Medical Doctor, Dr James Raitt, worked closely with the Transfusion Laboratory at the John Radcliffe Hospital’s blood bank in Oxford to enable the service to carry FFP on board and explains its importance: “Current evidence and NICE trauma guidelines now recommend that if a patient is bleeding to death, they should receive both ‘packed red cells’ (which carry oxygen) and ‘plasma’ (which carries the clotting factors to help stop the bleeding),” says Dr Raitt.

Up until recently, it has only been viable for TVAA to carry red blood cells on board due to it being more readily available and the way it is able to be stored and recycled.

Plasma is scarcer and once thawed from its frozen state it only has a 5 day shelf-life before it has to be discarded.

Dr Raitt continues; “As the John Radcliffe is the major Trauma Centre for the region, we are confident that thawed plasma not used by the air ambulance in a 48 hour period can be returned to the hospital via the blood bank and used by the emergency medical teams there without any waste. This partnership is pivotal in improving survival rates for patients needing blood products (red blood cells and plasma) to treat severe haemorrhaging before they reach hospital”.

We aim to provide the same life-saving medical assistance that our patients would expect from an Emergency Department.

Paramedic Jo Thames Valley Air Ambulance paramedic passes Diploma in Immediate Medical Care Paramedic Jo Jefferies joined the Thames Valley Air Ambulance medical crew in 2010. As a South Central Ambulance Service paramedic, Jo already brings a huge amount of experience to the TVAA team and has now passed her DIMC through the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Until recently this was an examination for doctors only.

Jo was one of our first paramedics to be awarded support from the TVAA Scholarship Scheme. The TVAA scholarship fund exists to assist medical staff in improving and enhancing their clinical skills in PHEM. It ensures that the TVAA team is able to provide the best possible care to patients.

Upon passing Jo said: “I’m very pleased to have passed, and slightly surprised but I did have some tremendous support which got me out of the starting blocks. I would happily oblige with anything to encourage anyone else to go for it, and recognise it is achievable with some hard work.

We are extremely proud of Jo’s achievements. Dr Michael Ward, Trustee, retired Consultant Anaesthetist and Ambulance Medical Director, said, “I am delighted that Joanna has been successful in her recent higher examinations and that the recently introduced TVAA Scholarship she was awarded helped in this. Joanna is a role model for her colleagues, by her practice and attitude.”

Fundraising Round Up 2016 saw a busy summer of fundraising, and we’d like to thank everyone who supported us and of course our fabulous team of volunteers without whom we wouldn’t be able to attend so many events.

Here are just a few highlights…

TVAA supporters reached new heights with 24 brave souls taking on the challenge of a skydive, and raising over £10,000! Fundraiser Kate Martin said, “it was amazing to experience the views that our crew see – next challenge for me has to be wing walking, anyone want to join me?!”

Our Open Gardens scheme is always popular amongst supporters, and 2016 was no exception, seeing over 7000 of people visiting the 60 gardens. The hard work and dedication of the garden owners was clearly evident with glorious blooms and wonderful flowers for visitors to enjoy at a variety of gardens across the region. And what garden visit would be complete without the chance to relax with a cup of tea and slice of cake afterwards?!

2016 was the 10th year anniversary of the Gravity Grand Prix organised by the Kaffirs of Cookham Dean, which has now raised over £100,000. This year’s event saw a fabulous array of karts which do seem to get more adventurous year on year, who knows what we’ll see in 2017!

If you’d like to fundraise for TVAA in 2017 we’d love to hear from you – please contact the fundraising team at fundraising@tvairambulance.org.uk or on 0300 999 0135

Our Corporate Partners Here is an update on a few of our corporate champions. A full list of all our corporate partners can be found on our website.

Edgewell Personal Care – High Wycombe “Staff from Edgewell competed to see who could raise the most money for TVAA. The one day challenge saw teams sitting on all 8000+ seats at Wycombe Wanderers Adams’ stadium; Tandem fancy dress cycle from Twickenham Stadium to High Wycombe and Climbing the O2.”

Nielsen – Oxford Office “Each year Nielsen select a charity to support through staff nominations. TVAA was an easy choice as the service had impacted several. The support and partnering provided by TVAA made the fundraising enjoyable, motivational and each associate really felt like they made a difference.”

Big Wipes – UK HQ “TVAA does an incredible job, but it needs the community’s generosity to save lives. That’s why we at Big Wipes set ourselves the fun challenge of cycling 185 miles. We are very grateful for all the kind-hearted sponsorship.”

Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance – Banbury

“Lloyds staff went out into the local community to ask other business owners to host TVAA collection tins. We were amazed by the response. TVAA is so loved by everyone and us too!”

Thanks to Volunteers We would like to say a big thank you to the overwhelming generosity of our volunteers.

Katie Whelpdale Volunteering is a vital part of charity life; we would not be able to Volunteers Fundraising Manager operate without our them. Volunteers often support the charity by proactively fundraising on our behalf, they help at our events and spread the word by attending talks. We are particularly looking for volunteers in the Oxfordshire area (especially in the Northern part of Oxfordshire), Buckinghamshire (mainly Milton Keynes, Newport Pagnell & Buckingham) and in and around the Newbury area (the rest of Berkshire is very well covered with volunteers).

So whether you have a few hours a month, or would like to volunteer every week and you are interested in becoming part of our team, please contact katie.whelpdale@tvairambulance.org.uk

WITH YOUR SUPPORT WE SAVE LIVES

What to look out for Calendar of Events TVAA are involved in lots of exciting events and activities for 2017, here are just a few dates for your diary:Month January February March

April

May

June

Date from 18th 19th 19th 24th - 26th 14th 15th 29th 29th / 30th 1st 6th & 7th 22nd 14th 14th tbc 27th - 29th 27th / 28th 29th 4th 4th 11th 10th tbc

Event launch of our new Walking Trek for September Kilimanjiro Challenge Heyford Airbase Race Reading Half Rotary D1090 Conference Lambourn Open Day Burghfield Bunnyhop Tough Mudder Half Isle of Wight Challenge Milton Keynes Marathon & ½ Marathon Tough Mudder Windsor Race Night Abingdon Air Show Royal Berkshire 10k Chiltern Vintage Tractor Run Mentmore Arts Festival London to Brighton Challenge Small Fry & Big Fish Swim Wellington Triathlon 3 Counties Cycle Ride Classics on the Crick Dragon Boat Racing Volunteers Week

To find out more about any of the above please contact fundraising@tvairambulance.org.uk or call 0300 999 0135.