Rise in serious incident responses for Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance
Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) responded to more emergencies and an increasing number of time-critical serious trauma incidents during 2019.
From their base at Perth Airport, highly skilled paramedics deployed to 352 life-threatening emergencies - an 8% increase on the previous year's workload. Last year also recorded a 47% increase in the number of serious trauma cases attended by SCAA - from 105 to 154 - with nearly a third (64) being to road traffic collisions.
Crews were quickly on scene at crises throughout the whole of Scotland, tending the seriously sick and injured and flying or escorting a total of 174 to definitive hospital care. In addition to airlifting patients to hospital, SCAA's paramedics were on scene to treat and assist in cases ranging from major multiple casualty trauma incidents to single patient illnesses in remote and rural locations.
During 2019, SCAA was airborne for a total of nearly 350 hours, flying help and hope to communities in every region of mainland Scotland and many of its islands. In addition to the 64 road traffic collisions attended by SCAA, the crew's workload last year also included 59 cardiac related emergencies, 16 strokes, 35 falls, 18 equestrian accidents, 16 industrial accidents (including agricultural) and six emergencies involving animals.
A further 62 call outs involved air transfers from remote or island locations to advanced mainland hospital care where hours could be saved on journey times for vulnerable patients.
SCAA impacted on the outcome for sick and injured in every part of Scotland from the Western Isles and Borders to Grampian and Dumfries and Galloway (barring Orkney and Shetland) during 2019. The majority of emergencies attended by the charity's distinctive yellow, blue and green air ambulance helicopter were in Highland (32%) and Tayside (24%) health board areas.
Patients helped by SCAA ranged from babies to the elderly, with a large increase in the number of infants being attended from 2018 to 2019 (a rise from eight to 17). Throughout 2019, a further 10 patients were children under the age of 12 and 14 were teenagers. This represented a 95% increase in the number of patients under the age of 18 attended by SCAA - 21 to 41 - in more than 11% of all call outs.
SCAA's 2019 mission log shows that the emergency response helicopter's busiest month was August, while Fridays saw the greatest demand for the charity service. Throughout 2019, SCAA airlifted patients to hospitals throughout the country - the most visited being Ninewells at Dundee and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital at Glasgow (receiving patients from 30% and 25% of all emergency responses respectively).
A total of 15 hospitals across Scotland were visited by SCAA to hand over seriously sick and injured patients including Crosshouse at Kilmarnock (14% of all airlifted patients) and the Royal Alexandra at Paisley (19%).
Responding by both land as well as air, SCAA paramedics attended 55 emergencies in their Rapid Response Vehicle - 15.5% of the year's call outs.
SCAA is looking forward to launching it's second aircraft in the spring, allowing the charity to respond to even more emergencies in 2020, taking more care to more people more quickly from its two bases at Perth and Aberdeen.
