Addenbrooke's must have a helipad on site to prevent further risk to patients, says a leading trauma surgeon.
Dr Gareth Davies, consultant trauma surgeon at the Royal London Hospital, told the News at a hospital like Addenbrooke’s – the region’s major trauma centre – a helicopter landing site could be a life-saver.
Currently, air ambulance helicopters have to land on Gog Magog Golf Course, around two miles from the hospital, and patients – some in a life-threatening condition – have to be put into an ambulance to get to the hospital.
Dr Davies said: “One thing we do know is that when we move patients in and out of ambulances, that is when things go wrong – that is widely accepted in emergency medicine.
“The time when patients are at risk – when drips might fall out or drains become unconnected – is when you are moving people in and out of ambulances or out of a bed.
“Anything that minimises that is within our interests – having a landing site at a hospital gets round those known issues.”
He added: “The secondary transfer is not good for the patient.
“It is vital for anyone in the region to have the same access to health care wherever possible, whether you are three or four miles from the hospital or 100 miles from the hospital.
“The helicopter is absolutely vital in keeping that opportunity open to certain patient groups. They need the speed not just for the team getting to them but also to get them to the hospital, and not having a landing site is adding time to that journey.”
Dr Davies had earlier addressed a conference in Melbourn on scaling up emergency medical services at night – the East Anglian Air Ambulance team will start night-flying in September – to bring night-time care in line with daytime provision.
Dan Poulter, MP for central Suffolk, also attended the conference and said Addenbrooke’s trauma centre was “not fit for purpose” without a helipad.
Politicians including Health Secretary Andrew Lansley have urged the hospital to get a helipad as soon as possible – Addenbrooke’s says one will be provided on the roof of a new A&E department when it is built.
In 2006, the Chariots of Fire charity race in Cambridge raised £75,000 for a helipad to be built nearer the hospital. With interest, that has grown to £82,000.
A spokesman for Addenbrooke’s said: “The focus of this debate must be on what is best for patients and should be about how best to provide an integrated trauma service that covers all forms of transportation, rather than about the location of one helipad.
“We are working towards a permanent helipad which will mean there is no longer a requirement for a land ambulance transfer.
“We have every confidence in the views of clinical experts skilled in the care of trauma patients, that the system we are operating now provides a safe, high-quality service.”
source: cambridge-news.co.uk
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