A day in the life... KSS crew

I would have survived a longer journey. My injuries have been life-changing. I had to have my left leg amputated and I am paralysed from the waist down. It’s been a tough road to recovery and I have had to take time to grieve for the life that I had planned and the impact on my family. I am now at the start of rebuilding my life and I hope to return to as many sporting activities as possible. I previously completed 25 marathons and six Ironmans and that training has been invaluable in motivating me through the rehabilitation process. I am immensely proud of my family. Murray has taken it all in his stride and is fundraising for the charity that saved my life. So far, he has raised over £12K through a number of different challenges, including running the equivalent of a marathon over five days — quite an achievement for a five-year-old! In addition, Murray, Emily and I supported the KSS Run 31 fitness fundraiser. True to form for our family, we challenged ourselves to complete the 31 miles all in one day with Murray cycling, Emily running and me pushing myself along in my wheelchair. My family and I are now very much part of KSS. Since my accident, I have had to re-focus and remind myself of what’s important in life and I have learned the hard way what a beautiful thing it is to be alive. When I hear the birds, hug my family or watch Murray playing sport, I know that none of it would be possible without KSS.

I am so grateful to be alive, to be able to tell my family that I love them and to have a future with them. KSS is a crucial, lifesaving charity, hugely reliant on raising significant funds from the public every year.

Fundraising for them is the least we can do.

Noel

KSS crew

Paramedic and Operational Manager David Wright shares a day in the life of one of our crews at our Redhill base.

6:35am We generally arrive at Redhill in good time to change into flight suits (and make a cup of tea!) before taking a handover from the night team. We chat through the missions they were called to attend and check if any kit needs replacing. 7am It’s important for us to make sure the aircraft and cars are ready to go as soon as possible. The pilots complete an ‘A-check’ of the aircraft, which needs to be done every 24 hours, and whilst they complete this, Marwa (the HEMS doctor) and I check both the car and aircraft. The medical equipment, such as the ventilator and patient monitors are tested to make sure they are functioning properly. If any kit is defective, we have spares on base and we ask the support team to arrange for repairs. 7:30am With checks complete, we get together with our two pilots (Kev and Mark) and run through the daily brief. This covers everything from the aircraft to payload, weather, local aviation notices and road conditions in the region. If a job comes in now, we have a shortened brief, so as not to delay our deployment. 7:45am Time to go to the aircraft with First Officer, Mark, to undertake a ‘90day brief’. Every doctor and paramedic does this on both our AW169 and MD902 aircraft types, to ensure we are up to date with emergency procedures and changes on the aircraft. 8am Breakfast — just coffee and cereal as it’s a weekday. At weekends, we all try and sit down together for a cooked breakfast, with everyone bringing in their favourite supplies!

A day in the life of...

8:06am That break didn’t last long! The radio calls us, “Helimed 60, job for you in Brighton.” Leaving a full mug of coffee, I take brief details from our dispatcher, Carol. We know someone has fallen from height, but we have little other detail at this stage. This is a ‘Grade 1 send’, so the aim is to send the aircraft within two minutes of the job coming in. The pilots have already made their way out to the aircraft and have received the grid location of the incident. They speak with the control tower at Redhill, who co-ordinate with the air-traffic controllers at Gatwick to arrange for us to pass into their airspace without delay. 8:22am We get an update from Carol - the job is not quite as given in the call — the person has actually fallen two meters and not 20, and the Critical Care Paramedic on scene is happy to stand us down. However, another call is coming in, this time an RTC (road traffic collision) and the driver is reported as trapped. 8:38am As we arrive, we see a car has left the road and is in a field. The ambulance service, fire and rescue and police are all on scene. As we find a safe landing site, Marwa takes photos of the scene — these can be useful at the hospital, to help them understand the mechanism on the accident. We’re able to land directly at the scene, known as an ‘alpha landing’. The patient has been extricated by the fire service but is unconscious. After carrying out a thorough examination, it is clear the patient needs an emergency anaesthetic and fluid resuscitation with blood. This is something we train for and we carry all the necessary drugs, plus a supply of blood products on board. We set up our equipment, and with the help of the other emergency services deliver the critical treatment the patient urgently needs. In the meantime, the pilots have checked that the helipad at the nearest major trauma centre (King’s College Hospital) can receive us. Once the patient is anaesthetised, we call ahead to alert King’s that the patient is ‘Code red’ so they can arrange for trauma surgeons to meet us.

On route, we monitor the patient’s condition, whilst our pilots coordinate with the air traffic controllers to allow us to fly directly to the helipad. We are met by a full trauma team, who take a handover from Marwa, and continue care of our patient. 10.30am Back at Redhill someone has kindly cleared away the coffee mug! The early team (who started at 6am) are on base, so we know they will be sent on the next job, giving us time to restock our bags. 11am We try again for a coffee; this time we get to finish it! We check what duties are scheduled for us — each day we have different things to do, such as a detailed check of a particular bag, or cleaning and restocking one of the clinical areas. Today, our task is to clean and tidy the drugs room, so we do this whilst awaiting our next job. 11am SERV arrive at Redhill with a fresh supply of blood. When Carol heard us call a ‘Code Red’ she arranged replenishments. We give them the box we used, complete with paperwork which allows the blood transfusion service to track the blood and the recipient. 12:30pm After a quick sandwich, Marwa and I decide to update some training. We keep a clinical passport, which reminds us which skills may need refreshing — today it’s arterial lines. We practice placing them on a mannequin and setting up the monitoring equipment. Some skills are used infrequently, but by ensuring our training is up to date we are confident that we can rely on them when needed. 2:30pm The late team will be in soon. They take over from the ‘earlies’ at 3pm and work until midnight. Before we get a chance to say hello, the radio goes again and we are off to a job in Pulborough. 2:40pm Carol updates us — a small child has been knocked over. As a parent, I dread this type of job most. However, I know that we can deliver the best care, and so concentrate on what we need to do. We run through the drug calculations — for children, we base the dosages on the patient’s age and weight. We can’t land next to the patient, but there is a park nearby, and we jog to the scene. The ambulance service have done a fantastic job to calm the patient and his mum — it’s clear the lad has broken his leg and after an examination, we give strong analgesia and put his leg in a splint.

A car hitting a child risks significant other injuries, so we triage the patient to a paediatric major trauma centre. The nearest one is Southampton. A quick check with the pilots confirms we have sufficient fuel and capacity to take mum too — we will always try to do this. With strong pain relief, and leg splinted, our patient falls asleep! Mum is reassured and it’s satisfying to hand the patient over knowing we have been able to keep them comfortable. 6pm Nearly the end of shift! We’ve got everything ready for the night. We take the opportunity to sit down and chat through the jobs we have done — it’s really helpful to talk things through, particularly where jobs are challenging. We know it’s the best way to deal with our emotions and helps with our wellbeing. 6:30pm The night team are in early. We’re more than happy to see them and make a round of tea for everyone. We hand over, just as the previous night team had done for us, before the radio calls at 6:50pm “Helimed 60, job in Dover”. The night team offer to take the job, even though they don’t officially start until 7pm. We head to the helipad to watch the aircraft take off — it’s a sight we never tire of, even after many years of working for KSS!

We head to the helipad to watch the aircraft take off — it’s a sight we never tire of, even after many years of working for

KSS!