Meet the Hertfordshire Air Ambulance crew (From Watford Observer)

Meet the Hertfordshire Air Ambulance crew

8:30am Wednesday 26th November 2008 in News By Michael Pickard

The first Air Ambulance in Hertfordshire took to the skies this month after a tremendous fundraising effort from residents across the county. Chief Reporter Michael Pickard went to meet the team that could save your life.

Dial 999 and ask for an ambulance. The chances are that a white van with four wheels, flashing blue lights and a loud siren will immediately race towards you.

Before Monday, November 10, that same ambulance would have come to your aid wherever you were - whether at home, in your car on the motorway or out walking the dog.

And since that date, that same ambulance will still respond to any emergency anywhere.

But one thing has changed. When before paramedics would sometimes struggle to reach casualties stranded in remote locations, Hertfordshire now has its own Air Ambulance to call on.

From North Weald airfield across the Essex border, where the crew share their office with Weald Aviation Services, a red and white MD902 Explorer helicopter takes off within four minutes of receiving an emergency call.

“We try to bring A&E to the patient. The service offered in A&E we can offer at the roadside.

Maria Smith, Herts Air Ambulance doctor

Travelling at speeds of up to 140 knots (around 150 miles per hour), the Air Ambulance brings vital, life-saving hospital treatment to any location in Hertfordshire within 15 minutes.

And once on board, the pilot will fly patients not to the nearest hospital but to the most appropriate depending on their injuries, allowing them to receive the best possible treatment.

Helicopter pilot David Kerr-Sheppard, 48, joined the Royal Air Force when he was 17, and five years later qualified as a pilot. He completed six tours in the Falklands and has spent the last 25 years flying the RAF search and rescue helicopter.

David rose to the rank of Wing Commander, and his last flying job for the RAF was as a commanding officer for the search and rescue squadron covering the whole of southern England.

David also worked for the Ministry of Defence, but decided to return to the skies with Medical Aviation Services, which provides the Air Ambulance, in September.

“It's proper seat of your pants flying,” he said when asked asked about the difference between flying a helicopter and a plane.

“In an aircraft you know you can let go and it will continue to fly. A helicopter is by its very nature unstable. If you did nothing it would fall out of the sky. It's hands on flying and helicopters are very versatile.”

Sitting alongside David in the helicopter are paramedic Chris Martin, 30, and doctor Maria Smith, 38.

Chris has worked for the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire ambulance service for nine years, and as a paramedic for the past five years. Last year he qualified as an Emergency Care Practitioner (ECP) and now splits his time between hospital and the Air Ambulance.

Maria, however, has already built up considerable flight time with the Cambridgeshire Air Ambulance.

She trained as an A&E consultant and has been a doctor for ten years, treating the variety of patients who come through the doors.

More recently, however, Maria became interested in pre-hospital care and found the best way to get the skills she wanted was by joining the Air Ambulance.

She said: “It's the only way you can do a full-time hospital job in pre-hospital care, looking after the patient from the scene of the incident to delivering them to A&E.

“We try to bring A&E to the patient. The service offered in A&E we can offer at the roadside.

“It's getting the patient from the very first moments, working out what's wrong with them and starting a treatment plan. Doing that from scratch is very different and that's what I enjoy about it.”

The team's day starts at 7am, when David and Maria arrive at the airfield.

He inspects the weather forecasts and services the helicopter, while she checks the drug supplies and the medical equipment in their 20kg backpacks.

Then at around 8am, by which time Chris has arrived, they have a briefing before declaring themselves on duty.

Only if there is low cloud cover or poor visability will the helicopter not fly, while extremely cold and wet conditions must also be avoided as this can lead to icing.

In between emergency calls, there are administration duties to be completed, while the doctor and paramedic will review past incidents and carry out training scenarios.

Then when there is an emergency, ambulance control will telephone the base.

David said: “The first thing I will do is see where it is and how far, what sort of airspace we need to go through and straight away I will go to the aircraft and start it. We also might need more fuel or equipment.”

Four minutes after taking the call, the ambulance is off the ground and flying a direct path to the casualty.

“So far we've had calls about falls off ladders and through a roof at a factory, people being kicked by horses, cardiac arrests and motorway accidents,” David said.

And when the ambulance reaches its destination, it is his job to find a suitable landing site, where the helicopter can sit and wait while the on board doctor and paramedic tend to the patient.

David said: “The landing site is governed by where the incident is. I have to land where the crew can walk to the incident. I wouldn't land on roads as a matter of course, until they are closed by the police.

“If they (Maria and Chris) need extra kit, I will help them and also prepare the stretcher in the aircraft.

“Normally they call me up and say they're taking the patient to hospital so it gives me time to work out how to get there. Then once everyone is loaded, off we go.

“Most hospitals have a landing pad or field somewhere nearby where they are transferred to an ambulance and taken to A&E. The medical guys go into hospital to do the handover and that will take 30 minutes. They bring all the equipment back, reload the aircraft and we come home.”

For David, the best part of the job is being paid for his “hobby”.

He said: “It's great fun. We're all a big team and all help each other.

“If I didn't fly for a job I would do it as a hobby. I might as well do my hobby and get paid for it. From as far back as I can remember I wanted to be a pilot. It's just something I always wanted to do and I've been lucky enough to do it.”

Chris, however, enjoys the variety of situations he must deal with on a daily basis.

He said: “For me it's about job variety, and the excitement of it all. I learn new skills and get more surgical intervention calls and a greater drug range.

“I'm very much enjoying the variety of the job and learning new skills. There's a greater level of teamwork that has to be there.

“With Hertfordshire being quite a rural area, land ambulances can struggle to get to some locations. It's another resource to call on that will make patient care better. Ultimately, that's what really matters.”

Hertfordshire was one of the last counties in the country to have its own Air Ambulance, but this was only possible after residents raised more than £250,000.

Now the Essex and Hertfordshire Air Ambulance Trust must collect a further £80,000 each month to maintain the life-saving service, which runs five days a week, as it is not supported by government grants or lottery funding.

Alongside regular fundraising events, people can also enter the weekly Flight for Life lottery, which gives players the chance to win £1,000.

For more information about the Hertfordshire Air Ambulance, telephone 0845 2417690 or visit www.hertsairambulance.uk.com.