The advanced equipment carried by East Anglian Air Ambulance’s helicopters and critical care cars enables enhanced care at the incident scene – when our patients need it most. Due to advancements in technology, and our previous models being discontinued, we recently updated the ventilators used by our crews, which support our care for people in their most vulnerable and frightening moments.
The purpose of a ventilator
Ventilators are mechanical devices which support a patient’s breathing. We use ventilators in a range of medical emergencies, including on people who have suffered a cardiac arrest or a life-threatening seizure, for example. They are critical for patients who are unable to breathe adequately on their own due to trauma, respiratory distress or serious illness. Additionally, ventilators can be used when somebody is suffering from, for example, heart failure or a respiratory condition that might require non-invasive ventilation.
They’re not just machines; they are lifelines.
An upgrade to meet evolving medical standards
We previously carried different ventilators for adults and paediatric patients. We are upgrading to single ventilators which cover a wider patient age range so that separate adult and paediatric ventilators would no longer need to be carried.
The big decision
As with any changes in equipment, an East Anglian Air Ambulance working group was formed. They scoped the market against the specification required. Different ventilators were reviewed by the working group and the crew. Through a rigorous evaluation process, the selection was narrowed down to three based on several factors, including user perspective, size, weight, cost and effectiveness of use in the pre-hospital setting. We decided the TV50 – Mindray ventilators were the best fit for our needs and those of the patients we attend.
The eight new TV50 ventilators are now operational and offer advancements including improved battery life, size, and support for patients of all ages and conditions. We have four ventilators at our Norwich base and four at our Cambridge base. This provides equipment for each helicopter and critical care car, plus additional machines to provide resilience and support crew training. This vital ventilator upgrade has been funded by your donations, including a generous gift from the Heveningham Hall Country Fair charitable trust, long term supporters of our work.
Impact on patient care
The ventilation of some patients can be challenging to due to lung behaviour or anatomy. Innovation and advances in technology can make this easier and give our crews the ability to ventilate a wider proportion of the patient group we attend, therefore helping to improving patient care.
Technology continues to progress and we hope it will eventually allow us to transmit ventilator patient data to our records, in the same way as we do for patient monitoring. This would build an even bigger picture to inform our treatment and care of patients, responding quickly and providing the very best care when the very worst happens.
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