Mission critical: 2nd – 8th Jan

Welcome back to Mission Critical! We hope you had a fantastic Christmas and a very happy New Year!

It’s been a busy New Year, with our air ambulances being called out 23 times across the five counties we cover. As we move into winter and encounter more rainy weather and evening frosts, road traffic collisions continue to make up a large majority of our missions.

Here’s a brief look at some of what Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA) and Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) have been to over the last week.

Road traffic collisions made up the bulk of our calls last week, making up 30% of our total missions. DLRAA visited Derbyshire in the night car on 6th Jan after a man was involved in a road traffic collision.

The man, who was in his 20s, had been hit by a car while a pedestrian.

He was treated on scene by our critical care paramedic and trauma doctor and staff from East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), then taken to hospital by land ambulance with our crew assisting.

Medical emergencies were also common, at 25% of the total.

Missions that couldn’t be categorised made up 22% of last week’s incidents, while falls made up 17%. WNAA went to one of our ‘other’ categorised miossions on Thursday after a man in Warwickshire suffered an accidental electric shock.

The man, who was in his 20s, suffered burns to his hands.

The air ambulance crew worked with West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) to assess and treat the patient, then flew him to a specialist burns centre for further treatment.

We also attended a single sporting accident.

Are you looking to make a change this New Year? Why not spare some time and volunteer for your local air ambulance? For more information click here.