BC Emergency Health Services Air Ambulances on Vancouver Island will come stocked with potentially life-saving blood, supplied by Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. (BCEHS)

By Alex Rawnsley

SHOT IN THE ARM

‘Minutes can count in that situation:’ Nanaimo blood packed and ready to go on Island Air Ambulances

Mar 31, 2022 | 2:12 PM

NANAIMO — Donated and collected blood is now more readily available for an express flight where it’s needed most.

A partnership between Island Health and BC Emergency Health Services (BC EHS) is seeing blood, collected and stored at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, loaded and carried on air ambulances across Vancouver Island.

Kevin Lambert, a Nanaimo-based BC EHS critical care paramedic told NanaimoNewsNOW local air ambulances began carrying blood in December in a bid to provide a better response, quicker.

“Whatever the case may be where they’re far away from a hospital…if they’re really injured at the scene we can start to replace that blood right away and minutes can count in that situation.”

One air ambulance is stationed in Parksville and operated by two separate crews.

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Before the program came into effect late last year, critical care paramedics were sometimes a little handcuffed in the scope of care they could provide, Lambert said.

“Putting over IV fluids into somebody, it doesn’t deliver oxygen to the systems you need blood to do that,” Lambert added. “This is a really big advancement in treating both medical and trauma patients and being able to do that right at the scene is a big benefit to us.”

Prior to the new partnership, blood products were only available to flights dispatched from Vancouver International Airport, severely limiting access for Island area residents.

Transfusions can be a life-saving measure in many cases of severe and life threatening injuries from falls, accidents or other medical emergencies.

Lambert also said with air ambulances now carrying blood supplies, it takes the pressure off communities where medical resources may be limited.

“If we respond to a smaller facility in a rural, remote or Indigenous town where there might not be a lot of facilities at the local healthcare centre, we bring that blood now, we don’t deplete their resources.”

The blood is prepared for transit at NRGH and stored in temperature-controlled coolers. Two units are available with each cooler and are recycled back with NRGH every four days.

Blood not used on board can still be used at the hospital, with fresh units supplied for air travel.

“The technology of the coolers is pretty cool because it keeps blood at the right temperature for days and if it’s not used, it gets picked up by courier and delivered to Nanaimo for use in the hospital where it will be used more quickly,” Lambert said.

Dedicated air ambulances for Vancouver Island first took flight in November 2020 in a bid to improve response times to a variety of communities in the region.

BCEHS paramedic Brian Gill stands in front of an air ambulance with two units of blood from Nanaimo Regional General Hospital in a specialized cooler. (BCEHS)

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