WILTSHIRE Air Ambulance is now able to give patients emergency blood transfusions before they reach hospital.
The charity's helicopter and rapid response response vehicle started carrying blood onboard on August 17.
It has teamed up with Great Western Air Ambulance Charity to fund the initiative.
This means the two air ambulances are the first in the south west of England to carry blood.
Wiltshire Air Ambulance critical care paramedic Richard Miller said: “Without doubt having blood on the helicopter will save lives. At the very least, by giving blood to patients it will increase their blood volume and enable oxygen to get to their brain, heart and kidneys giving them a better chance of survival to enable us to get them to hospital for treatment.
“Over the last four years Wiltshire Air Ambulance has moved rapidly into pre-hospital care by diagnosing, stabilising and treating critically injured patients on the roadside before they are taken to hospital. Having blood on the aircraft is another enhancement we can make in taking the emergency department to the patient.”
The blood is collected daily from the North Bristol Trust Transfusion Laboratory at Southmead Hospital and delivered daily to WAA’s Operations Centre in Devizes and GWAAC’s airbase in Filton by the charity Freewheelers EVS, which covers the south west.
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