Southampton General Hospital and the Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads Appeal (HELP Appeal) is celebrating the first anniversary of the hospital’s onsite helipad, which has helped to speed up transfer times for well over 300 critically ill and injured patients since it opened in November 2011.
The most common patients to use the helipad have been those with major trauma and those with severe medical conditions such as heart attacks. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance has been the most frequent user with 206 landings. However, the Coastguard, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance, the RAF, the Police and many others have all also used the helipad.
Before the onsite helipad existed, patients travelling to Southampton General Hospital via air ambulance had to land at Lordshill playing fields before being driven the final two miles by road ambulance - a transfer that could use up to half of the ‘Golden Hour’- the term commonly used for the first 60 minutes following critically illness or injury.
The HELP Appeal, a charity established by the County Air Ambulance Trust to help fund much needed helipad facilities at emergency departments across the country, provided a £1 million grant to pay for the helipad’s construction.
Michael Rosser, aged 47, is one of the patients who has benefited from the helipad. He was severely injured following a helicopter crash near Salisbury in January 2012. With several broken ribs, a broken sternum, broken shoulder and arm, in addition to internal injuries, Michael was transferred by the air ambulance to Southampton General Hospital where he was treated for five weeks. He has now made a full recovery.
"Without the onsite helipad... I might not be here today"
“I was obviously a little nervous about my transfer via helicopter following the nature of my accident,” he said. “However, I couldn’t be more grateful that I was able to be transferred to the hospital by this method. The helicopter transfer significantly reduced the time it took to get to Southampton General Hospital from over an hour to less than fifteen minutes, which is clearly life saving. Without the onsite helipad, I honestly don’t know what could have happened – I might not be here today. It is a fantastic facility and I am extremely grateful to the Air Ambulance and Hospital Staff who played a part in my recovery.”
Commenting on the first anniversary, Robert Bertram, Charity Director at County Air Ambulance Trust, HELP Appeal, said; “This is a really special day for us. Southampton General Hospital was the first major project that we funded as part of our national HELP Appeal scheme and the statistics speak for themselves, it’s been a real success.
“The helipad has helped hundreds of critically ill and injured patients from across the region to get to the specialist treatment they need as quickly as possible, saving many lives. This helipad showcases just how important it is for every hospital across the country to have access to safe onsite landing facilities.
“The HELP Appeal relies entirely on charitable donations and our fundraising efforts continue. We’re calling on the local community to get behind us and to donate whatever they can by calling 0800 3898 999 or visiting www.helpappeal.co.uk to help us help to save lives. Our dream is that every major hospital across the country has access to an onsite helipad but we can’t make this a reality without your support and donations.”
To Donate
To donate to the HELP Appeal call the donation helpline on 0800 389 8999, visit the website www.helpappeal.co.uk or donate by text.
To donate via text type HPAD22 plus the amount into the message box.
So to donate £5 type HPAD22£5 (no spaces). You can donate up to £30 a month.
Send your message to 70070 and your donation will be charged to your mobile bill.