New Air Ambulance program for critical patients
Posted December 18, 2013 2:58 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Critically ill patients on BC Air Ambulance flights will soon have access to a potentially lifesaving new program.
It used to be that picking up a patient for a critical air transfer meant having blood delivered to the air ambulance from a nearby medical facility.
Often it’s in short supply or completely not available, especially in rural areas.
Now a program launching this month will ensure the required blood is available on touch down.
“But one of the issues we’ve identified through some of our reviews is that many of our rural centres either have very limited or no blood product supply,” says Dr. Erik Vu, a physician who pulls double-duty as a critical care paramedic.
He says they’ll soon be able to bring blood directly to the patients, allowing them to ensure transmissions in flight during transfers.
“So when we have patients with clear indications for blood transfusions or we feel that blood transfusion is in the best interest of patient care, we try to identify a way in which our critical care paramedics can bring blood to the scene.”
BC Ambulance hopes to eventually expand the program to allow the helicopters to carry blood on all flights including first response calls.
