Our impact in October 2024

Swindon was the most frequently visited area, with 16 missions taking place in October. Our critical care team also attended 13 missions in Trowbridge, eight in Chippenham, seven in Westbury and six in Bath.  

We performed 21 patient transfers to various hospitals, including seven to Royal United Hospital in Bath, five to Great Western Hospital in Swindon and five to Southmead Hospital in Bristol. We transferred patients to five different hospitals across the region.  

With our helicopter away for its annual service from the first week of the month, understandably the majority of missions were undertaken by critical care car (87.2%). 

In terms of mission types, our crew were called to 20 cardiac emergencies, 15 falls, nine road traffic collisions, nine assaults and attended 13 incidents involving children.  

The clinicians are often called upon to perform surgical procedures, deliver blood transfusions and administer pre-hospital emergency anaesthesia at the scene of an incident.  

 During October, our critical care team carried out three procedural sedations and one patient needed pre-hospital emergency anaesthesia, which is a vital yet high-risk intervention. It is used to gain rapid control of a patient’s physiology following serious traumatic or medical incidents.   

The team also supported five patients with advanced airway management, and on three occasions used the LUCAS machine to deliver CPR.