Today (Monday, July 22), marks the seventh anniversary of the Air Ambulance Northern Ireland’s “first mission” to aid a child following a farm accident in Co. Down in 2017.
Seven years ago, the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) made its inaugural call out to aid an 11-year old from Castlewellan following a farming accident, and since then has been needed on over 4,300 occasions.
Conor McMullan needed urgent medical attention after he had been struck by a tractor trailer and suffered a serious head injury while working on the family farm, according to the Air Ambulance Northern Ireland.
“The HEMS medical team was able to immediately administer critical care interventions to Conor and stabilise him. These types of interventions can significantly reduce the chances of long-term damage to the brain from head injury.
“Thankfully, Conor made a fantastic recovery,” the Air Ambulance Northern Ireland said. Since its inaugural call out, the HEMS has been tasked on 4,364 occasions between July 22, 2017 and June 30, 2024.
HEMS
The charity Air Ambulance Northern Ireland, in partnership with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS), provides the HEMS which brings urgent medical assistance to anywhere in Northern Ireland, seven days a week for 12 hours per day.
The HEMS team attend patients who are seriously ill or injured, bringing emergency pre-hospital care directly to the casualty with the aim of saving lives, brains and limbs. The aircraft can reach anywhere in Northern Ireland in approximately 25 minutes.
Staffed by a consultant doctor and paramedic from NIAS, and supported by the charity providing the helicopter, pilot, and engineering services, the HEMS service has “markedly enhanced” emergency care, according to the charity.
NI air ambulance
Marking the seventh anniversary of the HEMS’s inaugural call out today, NIAS operational lead for HEMS, Glenn O’Rorke said: “Anyone could be a patient and need the air ambulance to fly to them.
“The crew is tasked to incidents including road traffic collisions, farm, sports or workplace incidents, accidents at home or serious medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest.”
One such patient is Damien Laverty from Carryduff Building Supplies who suffered a severe arm injury at work. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service worked to release Laverty’s arm from the machinery.
Once freed, Laverty was anaesthetised by the HEMS doctor and transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. “It has been a long journey to recovery, but I have made great progress. I was at risk of losing my arm but thankfully it was saved and I am back to work,” Laverty said.
HEMS clinical lead, Dr. Darren Monaghan said: “Damien’s positive outcome illustrates the benefit of emergency services working in partnership and the importance of the chain of survival for every critically injured patient.”
Running at a cost of £6,850 per day, the service relies heavily on public donations to meet its annual £2.5 million funding requirement. Head of operations and finance at the charity, Breige Mulholland expressed gratitude for the community’s support and emphasised the importance of continued fundraising efforts.
