Ambulance UK June 2023
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NEWSLINE<br />
Since the launch of the trial in<br />
A reunion between<br />
a medic and pilot 13<br />
years after they first<br />
flew together<br />
A reunion between a medic<br />
and pilot 13 years after they<br />
first flew together for the<br />
Great North Air <strong>Ambulance</strong><br />
Service (GNAAS) has left them<br />
feeling nostalgic as the charity<br />
celebrates its 21st birthday.<br />
GNAAS, which covers the North<br />
East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria<br />
and the Isle of Man, has been<br />
registered as a charity since 13<br />
May 2002 and provides life-saving<br />
care to people across the region.<br />
Andy Mawson began his<br />
career at GNAAS in 2010 as a<br />
paramedic and is now the director<br />
of operations, responsible for<br />
delivering the clinical operation<br />
and is also the registered manager<br />
for the Care Quality Commission<br />
who recently rated GNAAS as<br />
‘outstanding’ overall.<br />
Despite a change in job role, Mr<br />
Mawson still occasionally does<br />
shifts on the aircraft, and recently<br />
worked alongside pilot JJ Smith,<br />
who he first flew with 13 years ago.<br />
Mr Smith was chief pilot at<br />
GNAAS for six years before jetting<br />
off to pastures new, but he’s since<br />
re-joined the charity last year.<br />
Mr Mawson said: “I did my first<br />
shift with JJ since he returned<br />
to GNAAS and it brought back<br />
memories from when we used to<br />
fly together years ago.<br />
“The charity and the care we<br />
provide has developed so much<br />
in that time and I’m incredibly<br />
proud of what we’ve achieved.<br />
We want to be there for anyone<br />
that needs the advanced critical<br />
care we can provide, and make<br />
our communities proud of our<br />
service.”<br />
In 21 years, the charity has<br />
achieved several milestones<br />
including introducing doctors<br />
on board their aircraft and rapid<br />
response vehicles, running<br />
successful pre-hospital training<br />
courses for clinicians from around<br />
the world, delivering blood<br />
transfusions to more than 500<br />
patients and being awarded a<br />
rating of ‘outstanding’ by the Care<br />
Quality Commission in 2022.<br />
They also began operating seven<br />
nights a week in the North East<br />
in January this year and hope to<br />
offer the same level of service in<br />
Cumbria in the near future, which<br />
currently operates four nights a<br />
week.<br />
Outside of the <strong>UK</strong>, GNAAS have<br />
been working alongside Manx<br />
Care based in the Isle of Man<br />
to trial a new service to transfer<br />
seriously injured or unwell patients<br />
by helicopter from the Isle of Man<br />
directly to the <strong>UK</strong> for emergency<br />
medical treatment.<br />
Previously, patients were<br />
transferred by fixed wing air<br />
ambulance but there was<br />
no access to a pre-hospital<br />
Helicopter Emergency Medical<br />
Service which are able to provide<br />
the full spectrum of advanced<br />
critical care procedures, delivered<br />
by a doctor and critical care<br />
paramedic team.<br />
March 2022, the charity’s critical<br />
care teams, based in Penrith,<br />
Cumbria and Teesside, North<br />
East, have been deployed 22<br />
times, responding to road traffic<br />
collisions, medical incidents,<br />
falls, burns and a horse-riding<br />
incident, and the trial has since<br />
been extended for another year.<br />
Over the next two years the<br />
charity is also trialling carrying<br />
whole blood on board their<br />
aircraft and rapid response<br />
vehicles, which will be used to<br />
treat severely injured patients<br />
who are at risk of bleeding to<br />
death.<br />
Whole blood contains red blood<br />
cells, plasma and platelets<br />
(which help with clotting) all in<br />
one bag.<br />
Since 2015 GNAAS’ critical care<br />
team has administered blood<br />
transfusions using red blood<br />
cells and plasma, so the trial will<br />
be looking at the clinical and<br />
cost-effectiveness of pre-hospital<br />
whole blood administration<br />
in comparison to the blood<br />
products they currently use.<br />
Mr Mawson said: “We are<br />
incredibly proud of what we<br />
have achieved, which was only<br />
made possible because of<br />
the unwavering support of the<br />
people of the North of England.<br />
Now more than ever we need<br />
that support to make our dreams<br />
of full 24/7 care come true, and<br />
I know we can make every one<br />
of our supporters proud to be a<br />
part of our journey and our team.<br />
AMBULANCE <strong>UK</strong> - JUNE<br />
“On behalf of everyone at<br />
GNAAS we’d like to thank those<br />
who have supported our charity,<br />
as you are all life-savers, and you<br />
fly with us on every mission. You<br />
have saved countless lives and<br />
kept families together across the<br />
region over the last 21 years.<br />
Let’s make the next 21 years<br />
even more incredible together.<br />
86<br />
For further recruitment vacancies visit: www.ambulanceukonline.com
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