Record year for helicopter charity
Perth-based Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) had its busiest year in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aided by its second chopper joining the effort last spring, plus the rapid response vehicle which saved lives over land, SCAA responded to 460 emergencies all over Scotland.
Throughout the past year, from its operational bases at Perth Airport and Aberdeen, the charity-funded service responded to more time-critical emergencies than ever before, flying a record number of seriously ill and injured patients to advanced hospital care from every part of the country.
During 2020, SCAA was airborne for a total of over 461 hours, flying critical prehospital care to communities throughout mainland Scotland and many of its islands. A quarter of patients helped by SCAA were from Tayside.
People requiring SCAA’s emergency response ranged from babies to the elderly, with the majority being adults aged 18-64 and 32 per cent involving patients aged over 65.
The 460 life-threatening emergencies SCAA was deployed to was an increase of 31 per cent on the previous year’s workload.
Responses to serious trauma cases increased by 41 per cent - again dominating SCAA’s mission log and accounting for 47 per cent (217) of all the year’s call outs.
Crews were quickly on scene at crises throughout Scotland, tending the seriously sick and injured and flying or escorting a total of 193 to definitive hospital care.
In addition to airlifting patients to hospital, SCAA’s paramedics were on scene to treat and assist in cases ranging from major multiple casualty trauma incidents to single patient illnesses in remote and rural locations.
As well as attending RTCs, the crews’ workload last year also included 84 cardiac related emergencies, 21 strokes, 62 falls, 17 industrial accidents (including agricultural) and six emergencies involving burns. A further 60 call outs involved air transfers from remote or island locations to advanced mainland hospital care where hours were saved on journey times for vulnerable patients.
While most call-outs involved adults, SCAA also attended 16 emergencies involving infants under the age of three, 12 children aged four to 12 and seven teenagers aged 13-17.
SCAA’s 2020 mission log shows that the emergency response helicopter’s busiest month was August, while Fridays saw the greatest demand for the charity service.
Responding by both land as well as air, SCAA paramedics attended 65 emergencies in their rapid response vehicle.