The Welsh Air Ambulance is funded by the people of Wales. It is not part of our National Health Service that receives funding from the government as many mistakenly believe.
Wales Air Ambulance offers advanced critical care and is often described as a ‘Flying ED’. The on-board consultants and critical care practitioners are highly skilled and carry some of the most pioneering medical equipment in the world. They can deliver blood transfusions, administer anesthesia and undertake emergency operations at the scene of the incident, before flying the patient directly to specialist care.
From The Welsh Ambulance webpage
I’ve been to see where the helicopter is based and had a guided tour Air Ambulance headquarters. It’s situated just off the island of Anglesey in Caernarfon. I’ve watched many programmes about the wonderful work they do and never thought that it would ever have anything to do with me or my family – until recently.
My four-and-a-half-year-old grandson is fearless. From being a small child, he loved to climb. This particular day during a game with his brothers, he decided to jump out of the bedroom, window – about fifteen to twenty feet off the ground.
My daughter was quickly alerted, and due to her experience as a former police officer, was able to remain relatively calm. Young Leo had initially got to his feet and then collapsed. She immediately dialed 999 as her sister-in-law kept him calm. His older brother aged nine and half, grabbed his phone and rang his dad, a police officer in Manchester, a two-hour drive away. He immediately travelled home.
In the past when we called an ambulance, it would arrive within four minutes, but since COVID there has been a crisis within the Health Service, from which it never recovered. The operator said that there might be a three-hour delay. That was worrying. If it hadn’t arrived within thirty minutes my daughter decided to take him herself, even though she was afraid of moving him.
As they waited, they heard a rumbling sound, and the emergency services had sent the air ambulance instead. It landed in the nearby field, much to the awe of the other children. No limbs had been broken, but there was worry about his neck.
The paramedics examinded him put a stretcher underneath him, and added two blocks either side of his head in case he had injured his neck. One of them asked how bad his epilepsy was. For a moment my daughter looked blank before realising that he referred to Leo’s warrior helmet, from the game he’d been playing. The amusment helped lighten the situation.
Leo and his Mum were taken to the hospital and he hadn’t broken anything and his neck was fine. He is one very lucky boy. He landed on a soft patch of grass and only suffered shock and a sleepness night.
He has fully recovered now and needless to say, he has promised to stop climbing, and locks have been put on all windows just in case.
