Helicopter incubator helps Children’s Air Ambulance save more lives

The Children’s Air Ambulance (TCAA) national transfer service provides the only intensive care aircraft in the country dedicated to transferring critically ill babies and children, at a high and safe speed, from local hospitals to specialist paediatric and neonatal treatment centres.

The new and bespoke TCAA neonatal transport system has been designed with input from leading neonatal transfer clinicians to ensure they are able to provide outstanding care in the air. In addition to the incubator, the system includes a patient monitor, ventilator, suction unit, four infusion devices, oxygen, and specialist nitric oxide therapy.

Thanks to the support of public donations, the charity has designed and developed three bespoke neonatal transport systems that have been provided to specialist NHS transport teams free of charge across England. They integrate seamlessly with the charity's stretcher system and are a vital piece of equipment, especially when paired with TCAA's brand new AW169 aircraft. The helicopter has a large cabin interior allowing access to both sides of the neonatal transport system, plentiful medical air and oxygen supplies and easily controllable heat and light levels. The onboard power reduces the reliance on batteries, making it a very efficient enhancement to the national service.

Patrick Turton, Lead Nurse for Bristol's Newborn Emergency Stabilisation and Transfer Team, says: “Having the incubators will mean we can fly many more babies than we currently can. Before now, we were unable to safely use the helicopter to transfer our smaller infants, who need higher levels of support. This incubator means we will be able to get the smaller more fragile babies to the specialist services they need more quickly, reducing the anxiety and worry of the parents, and ultimately reducing the time taken for the infants to get the specialist support they need.”