New lifesaving kits for air ambulance crews

New lifesaving kit bags have been launched today by the East Anglian Air Ambulance in a bid to ensure that medical crews have the best drugs and equipment possible to deal with emergencies.
The kit includes equipment to anaesthetise patients, place arterial lines, surgical airway management, an iSTAT machine, an ultrasound machine and suction.

It will be carried by medical crew on board Anglia One and Anglia Two, the charity’s two helicopters, as well as on its rapid response vehicles.
Critical care paramedic, Jemma Varela said: “An enormous amount of work has gone into producing these new kit bags. Every single piece of kit that we carry has been considered and stored in the most practical place.”

EAAA crews carry a huge amount of equipment to the scene so they can treat a large number of different medical emergencies. It’s essential that equipment is easily accessible.
The new bags have been specially designed using colour coding and individual compartments to hold the different elements of clinical kit and controlled drugs.
The bags were designed by senior and longstanding members of the clinical team, including Professor Tim Harris and Dr Neil Berry and CCPs Gary Steward and Jemma Varela.
Medical crews have undertaken extensive training in how to use the equipment efficiently and effectively.
Since 2000 EAAA has flown over 16,887 missions.