Two patients a week given blood by Thames Valley Air Ambulance
The figures have been released to coincide with World Blood Donor Day
Thames Valley Air Ambulance who cover Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire say 96 critically ill or injured patients were given blood by their crews last year.
The figures amount to two patients per week.
Thames Valley Air Ambulance were only the second Helicopter Emergency Medical Service unit in the country to carry blood on board their vehicles.
Since becoming an independent healthcare provider in 2018 they say they've given blood to 402 patients in total.
They were only the second Helicopter Emergency Medical Service unit in the country to carry blood on board. London's Air Ambulance Service was the first.
Adam Panter, the Chief Operating Officer, at Thames Valley Air Ambulance says giving blood is just one of the hospital-level interventions crews are able to provide.
World Blood Donor Day is celebrated throughout the world. The event serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.
Adam Panter, the Chief Operating Officer, said:
“The ability to give blood to patients who are bleeding heavily, for example after a road traffic collision, is just one of the hospital-level interventions our expert crew can perform at the roadside, or wherever it is needed.
“As a charity, every mission is funded solely by the generosity of the public. But we don’t often get to show our supporters the impact of their donations. With Emergency Helicopter Medics back on our screens, our community can see the difference their donations make to someone when the worst happens.”
The paramedics and doctors are on screens for the latest series of Emergency Helicopter Medics on Channel 4 this month.