Charity offers free lifesaving courses for World Trauma Day

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity has collaborated with Merry Hill Shopping Centre and Safeguard Medical to offer free lifesaving training to shoppers on World Trauma Day, Sunday 17 October.

The team at Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is encouraging the public to learn vital skills that could save someone 's life, notably in CPR and catastrophic bleed control.

Both sessions will consist of lifesaving skills such as how to help restart a heart and how to control blood loss caused by traumatic injury, including DIY disasters, falls and road traffic collisions.

Restart A Heart Day falls on Saturday 16 October and World Trauma Day follows on Sunday 17 October, making the weekend an important one in the charity 's awareness calendar.

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity makes an average of 12 lifesaving missions every day across Gloucestershire and the Midlands, with more than 60 per cent of air ambulance missions tasked to patients suffering a trauma.

In 2020/21, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, there were 65 differing types of trauma-related incidents attended by Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

In addition to the most common types trauma missions, such as road traffic collisions and falls, the specialist crew were also tasked to:

• Cerebral bleeds (bleed on the brain)
• Explosions
• Haemorrhage (major bleeding)
• Penetrating injuries - (these could include stabbing, shooting, impalement or any other injury where a foreign object penetrates the skin and causes traumatic bleeding and pain)

Ian Jones, air operations manager for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, said: “World Trauma Day is an important awareness day for us at Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. With more than 63 per cent of the charity 's missions being trauma-related, it 's important to use this day to shine a light on the enhanced critical care our crews provide, and what bystanders can do to help the patient before medical expertise even arrives.

“In addition, the demand for advanced medicines and equipment coupled with specialist care on scene delivered by our critical care paramedics and flight doctors, continues to rise annually, with a 1.3 per cent rise in trauma-related incidents compared to 2020, which was already an extraordinary year with additional Covid pressures. ”

Professor Richard Lyon MBE, chief medical officer at Safeguard Medical, said: “Since lockdown has ended, we have seen a real uplift in callouts to trauma incidents caused by recreational or DIY accidents. It 's so important that the public is equipped with basic trauma response training, to preserve life until help arrives.

“At Safeguard Medical, our mission is to empower responders at every skill level with the skills they need to save more lives, which is why training sessions like those offered at Merry Hill, are so vital. ”

Jonathan Poole, centre manager at Merry Hill, added: “We are incredibly proud to support this lifesaving training initiative from the selfless team at Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, who have been coming to the aid of people across the Midlands for the last three decades.

“You never know when you might be called upon to save another person 's life, so we 're encouraging shoppers to join in and learn some vital skills.

“Merry Hill has always been at the heart of the community and we look forward to supporting Midlands Air Ambulance Charity to deliver more of these important training sessions and working with our team and visitors to raise much needed funds and awareness for the charity. ”

To receive your FREE training to save lives, visit the events space outside MANGO and M&S Ladieswear on the lower floor at Merry Hill Shopping Centre on Sunday 17 October 2021 (World Trauma Day) between 11am and 4pm.