Meet lifesavers who arrive by helicopter

It takes less than five minutes for the helicopter to be in the air after the first call comes through, and lifesaving equipment can be on the scene in just a few minutes more, depending on how far from base the incident occurs.

Pictured in the cockpit are pilot Capt Dave Webber and Dr Marietje Slabbert

Dr Marietje Slabbert, who has volunteered with the air ambulance since 2008, said it meant the team had to be on high alert at all times.

She said: “We have to have the ability to switch on and off very quickly.

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“Your day might be very slow and then you have to be at your best.

“You have to take the skills that you have from hospital-based training and put it into a different environment with different requirements.

“We get the location over the phone and we look on the map we have in the operations room to see the location.

“We do a pre-take-off check list and then go. From the second the phone rings we can be in the air in three to five minutes.”

The air ambulance at the base near Wallingford has been serving the people of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire since 1999 and as of Friday had flown 15,273 missions.

The air ambulance

The red and yellow EC135 Eurocopter is a regular sight at incidents across the region, whether someone has been hit by a car or has fallen ill in a remote location.

But the role of air ambulances has changed over the years, and they no longer just go where a road ambulance cannot reach.

Dr Slabbert said: “It is not used primarily as a flying ambulance but as a mode of transport to get a highly experienced clinical team to a patient.

“As soon as we land we can jump out straight away, leaving the rotors turning, and bring out the equipment we need.

“The key thing is that we bring things the road ambulance can’t.”

Paramedic Richard Company and  Dr Slabbert between jobs

The base at RAF Benson is always fully stocked with fresh O negative blood which can be administered to any patient in need of a blood transfusion.

Once the helicopter arrives at the scene it has to find a safe space to land, which can be tricky if the incident is in a built-up area.

Pilot Dave Webber said: “In urban areas we look at parks and school playing fields. In a rural area it is a bit more straightforward.

“There are minimum dimensions we have to adhere to but if the need is great we try to get as close as we can.

“Safety is my main concern. We get to know the towns in the county intimately and we get to know where is appropriate to land.”

Last month it was announced that, following the arrival of a new helicopter, the air ambulance would be able to fly at night.

Once new kit is delivered and more staff are hired, night flights will be able to begin, with the aim to start in the second half of 2015.

Dr Slabbert said: “Night flying is a completely different process.

“As soon as you step out of the aircraft you can’t see anything so we have to change our procedures to deal with working at night.

“But it will be beneficial because there will be a percentage of patients who will have access to critical care who didn’t have it before.”

Air ambulance paramedic Richard Company said the job he and the rest of the team does is extremely satisfying, but involves much more than just saving lives.

He said: “Knowing that the extra parts of kit that we bring over makes a difference means a lot.

“You see it working and you know that the person would not have survived without it.

“That makes it very satisfying.

“We are on standby quite a lot and on average we attend three incidents each day.

“In the meantime we try to do some teaching and we have lots of admin to do.

“The helicopter also needs to be kitted out and cleaned.”

The air ambulance is a charity and relies completely on funding from the public to keep operating and saving lives. Dr Slabbert said: “We are totally reliant on charity and the goodwill of people and we always try to make sure people give money. We are sometimes a nuisance because of the noise but like anything else it keeps us going and we really appreciate the support.

“I find the job very satisfying when people we have helped come back and we find out how well they are doing because we are just one stage in that patient’s journey.

“It all has to link together.

“I am on Twitter and I have had thank you messages from patients and that does mean a lot.”

One of the most high-profile call-outs the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance has responded to was on December 6, 2001.

 The Countess of Wessex

The ambulance was dispatched to the home of Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest child, and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, after she collapsed with severe abdominal pains.

She was rushed to King Edward VII hospital in London and underwent an emergency operation for an ectopic pregnancy, which caused her to lose her unborn child.

An air ambulance crew was scrambled because it was felt it would take too long to transport her to hospital by land ambulance.

The Countess, who was born at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, later went on to have two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.

FACTFILE

•  The Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance has been running since 1999, 12 years after the first air ambulance charity in the UK was launched in Cornwall. 
•  Until January 2007 it was based at the White Waltham Aero Club near Maidenhead before moving to RAF Benson. 
•  The current EC135 Eurocopter was delivered in July 2008 with the livery G-HBOB (Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire), reflecting the three counties it serves. 
•  The charity receives no funding from the Government and is run by a team of 17 volunteers, who raise the £165,000 needed to run the service every month. 
•  The helicopter is able to reach the outermost areas of each county within 15 minutes and transfers patients to a range of hospitals, with Oxford’s John Radcliffe normally the first port of call. 
•  It operates 365 days a year in daylight hours, and will be operating at night from the second half of 2015.
•  To donate to the air ambulance visit tvacaa.org

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