Written by Amanda Homan-Green, Lucy AAC PR & Events Manager.
The day began early, leaving home at 7am to drive to London Oxford Airport, Kindlington where our Air Ambulance had parked up overnight following the previous days’ transfer of a baby from Edinburgh to Oxford. Today’s mission was to pick-up a tiny premature baby who was born 10 weeks early when his parents were on holiday in Cornwall and safely transport him to neonatal care in a hospital closer to the family home in Essex.
The aircraft, a King Air B200, had been prepped the night before so once our two medics, Dr Lee and Jitka, had double checked equipment on the hi-spec Lucy Air Ambulance for Children’s flight-ready incubator we were ready for take-off. Our two pilots for the day were Captain Marc and First Officer Jacob. Patient paperwork was clarified and updated following a call to the neonatal consultant. Once we were in the air and stable above the clouds the patient discharge summary report was sent through to our team and the incubator was set-up with a sterile baby nest and equipment in preparation for the new arrival.
Thankfully the weather was glorious and views from the windows were clear and spectacular, especially when we flew over the coast of Cornwall.
Landing at Newquay Airport an hour later the road ambulance was already waiting for us on the tarmac and the two paramedics quickly unloaded their stretcher trolley to receive our special Airborne incubator. This was swiftly loaded into the ambulance and we were off to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.
On arrival at the maternity ward we quickly made our way up to the neonatal unit with the Lucy AAC incubator, supply equipment and breast milk freezer box to meet the baby we were transferring and his mum. Mum was naturally anxious following the sudden early arrival of her baby, a long way from home and her family. Baby had several complications following the birth and was in neonatal intensive care. Dr Lee had a thorough debrief from the lead consultant and team as the flight incubator was prepared to match the conditions and settings to the ward incubator, prior to carefully transferring the precious little cargo into his new cosy flight secure environment and Mum was reassured. A valuable collection of bottles of Mum’s expressed breast milk was taken from storage in the hospital freezer and packed safely in Lucy AAC’s breast milk freezer unit.
After the handover, baby was wheeled down the corridors and loaded into the waiting ambulance with Mum and the medics, and driven to the waiting plane at Newquay Airport. Baby was then carefully loaded on board, closely followed by his very relieved Mum.
Following a light lunch on board (sandwiches, salad pots and snacks) the medics informed the receiving neonatal team at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford that their new patient was en route. Next stop, Stansted Airport…
Under an hour later we landed at Stansted and had a welcoming committee of ground crew and another ambulance and paramedics. This ambulance was smaller and did not have a seat for me so I took a taxi to the hospital and Mum and medics accompanied baby in the ambulance. Baby was very stable and settled for the whole journey and was left, together with Mum’s frozen milk supplies, in the very capable hands of the neonatal team in a hospital closer to home. Meanwhile Dad was still in traffic, driving the car and luggage back from Cornwall as relieved and reassured Mum waited with their son for the family to be reunited. Dr Lee made a courtesy call to neonatal transfer team who made the referral informing them that baby had been safely delivered.
Flight nurse Jitka left us at the hospital to return to her home in London (which she had left at 4.30am to meet the Lucy AAC flight team at Oxford) and Dr Lee and I went in the ambulance to re-load the incubator into the waiting plane at Stansted and flew back to Capital’s base at Bristol Airport. After unloading the incubator, equipment and supplies securely into the hangar Dr Carl kindly dropped me at Bristol Temple Meads where I caught the train back to Kemble. I was home by 9pm, elated and so very proud of what this charity does for families in need and the hard work behind the scenes and dedication of the whole team that make these flights happen.
This transfer was comfortably completed from Cornwall hospital neonatal unit to Chelmsford hospital neonatal unit in under two hours, with one hour in the air. This would otherwise have been an enduring and life-threatening 5 1/2 hour journey by road travelling 316 miles.
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