Stabbed children ‘are now big part of workload for Air Ambulance’

DAYLIGHT stabbings of schoolchildren have become “part of the workload” for London’s Air Ambulance medics, they revealed today.

The service is now treating almost as many shooting and stabbing victims as people seriously hurt in road crashes, with open-heart surgery on knife victims performed in the street on an almost weekly basis. It responded to 606 traffic accidents and 500 gun and knife crime incidents last year.

These accounted for 60 per cent of the total of 1,864 incidents it attended where a person had suffered a critical or life-threatening injury.

Dr Gareth Davies, the London Air Ambulance’s medical director, told the Standard: “The amount of stabbings we have seen over the last 10 years has changed quite dramatically for us. It’s a big part of our work now — nearly 30 per cent of our work is penetrating injury. We are seeing a number of people with multiple stab wounds, in what appear to be more aggressive attacks. There is a real sense we are seeing stabbings of a greater gravity than in the past.

“These crimes of violence are beginning to equate with other forms of trauma that have historically been our biggest number of cases. The demographic of patients is changing from a night-time activity involving drugs and a dark alley to attacks in broad daylight. It’s no longer unusual to go to stabbings of schoolchildren outside their schools in daylight hours.

“It’s a sad fact that five years ago a child being stabbed in the playground would be a real point of discussion for all of our staff. Now it’s part of the wo rk l o a d . ” To d ay ’s figures are regarded as the “tip of the iceberg” as the air ambulance crews, who use a helicopter during the day and fastresponse cars at night, are not called to all incidents.

The service was launched in 1989 and depends on charitable donations to keep operating. A second helicopter was added last year, which increased annual running costs to £8.7 million.

Jonathan Jenkins, LAA chief executive, said: “Donations are needed now more than ever and I am urging people to please continue to support us.”

Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics showed the number of knife crimes committed across England and Wales rose by more than 4,000 last year — driven by a big leap in stabbings in London. There were 32,448 crimes involving a blade or sharp instrument during 2016, with 33 out of 44 police forces recording an increase.

This compares with a total of 28,427 knife c rimes the previous ye a r. London, which has suffered a spate of fatal teenage stabbings this year, accounted for 28 per cent of the extra cases. Today’s statistics also reveal an overall rise in violent crime, including a significant increase in “higher harm” offences including homicide and attempted murder.

Crimes categorised as “assault with injury and assault with intent to cause serious harm” were up 13 per cent, robbery was up 14 per cent and threats to kill up 28 per cent.

Fraud rose by 4 per cent, and total offences recorded by police in 2016 were up 9 per cent on the previous year to 4.8 million crimes. But it is suggested that much of the rise could be due to new ways of recording offences. @RossLydall