Cornwall Air Ambulance Marks Five Years of Carrying Blood on Board

Cornwall Air Ambulance is marking five years of carrying blood on board, a development that has allowed crews to start lifesaving transfusions before patients even reach hospital.

Five Years of On Scene Transfusions

Since 1st December 2020, the service has been able to carry out emergency blood transfusions at the scene of an incident. In that time, the crew have administered 80 transfusions to patients with traumatic injuries.

The first patient to receive one, just three days after the service launched, was 17 year old Zack Hancock. Zack was involved in a serious road traffic collision in St Tudy that left him with life threatening injuries.

His mother, Donna Jewell, said: “It was a horrific thing to go to, I collapsed in the middle of the road, it was heartbreaking. The police said to me that they didn’t think he was going to survive, so they let me sit beside him, and I sat beside him singing to him while they were working on him. Everyone was so amazing. Without the air ambulance, he wouldn’t be here.”

Zack was airlifted to Derriford Hospital and spent 11 days in a coma. He suffered a brain injury, significant internal injuries and multiple broken bones.

A Remarkable Recovery

Five years on, Zack, now 22, has made a strong recovery and has recently become a father for the first time.

He said: “I was lucky, if it wasn’t for the service, I wouldn’t be here now. I’m looking forward to spending this Christmas with my girlfriend and my newborn daughter, who has just turned seven months old.”

Critical Care Paramedic Paul Maskell, who attended Zack’s incident, said: “I will never forget Zack’s incident, as he was so critically injured at the roadside. Each year Zack now comes to visit us at the Royal Cornwall Show to say hello, and it’s wonderful to see how well he is doing. This intervention has really enhanced the level of our service and it’s amazing the difference it has made for so many of our patients over the last five years.”

The Role of Cornwall Blood Bikes

Cornwall Air Ambulance relies on Cornwall Blood Bikes to carry fresh frozen plasma and packed red blood cells to its Newquay airbase. The volunteer riders collect and deliver the blood products daily from the Royal Cornwall Hospital.

Jayne Penlerick, Chair of Cornwall Blood Bikes, said: “This project was in discussion and planning for a great length of time prior to its implementation, and it is truly wonderful to see such a successful partnership that has been formed. Our riders ensure that the blood gets to the airbase, 365 days a year in all winds and weathers. All the volunteers at Cornwall Blood Bikes remain immensely proud to be supplying Blood on Board to Cornwall Air Ambulance. The communities of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are extremely blessed to have the vital care that the Critical Care Team and everyone at Cornwall Air Ambulance strive to provide with this incredible service which is assisting with better patient outcomes for the people of Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.”

Cornwall Air Ambulance continues to highlight how blood on board has transformed what its medical teams can do in the most critical moments.