AN AIR ambulance charity crew which provides its service across South Gloucestershire was reunited with an 18-year-old ex-patient whose life was saved when they attended the scene of a serious road traffic collision.

The Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) welcomed ex-patient Louis Turner, who lives in the Forest of Dean, on Wednesday, April 8 to their base in Filton.

Mr Turner thanked the critical care paramedic who saved his life after a serious road traffic collision near Lydney in March.

Mr Turner, who was only released from hospital last week, suffered a severe trauma when the vehicle is was a passenger in left the road and came to rest on its roof, at the bottom of a ravine, close to the Dean Forest Railway site.

Mr Turner and his friend miraculously managed to escape from the vehicle and a PCSO driving past came to their rescue and took them to nearby Lydney hospital with suspected minor injuries.

 It soon became apparent that he was critically ill with a serious head injury and the GWAAC was called to treat and transport him.

 The charity, who fly with a critical care doctor and paramedic on board, can offer specialist treatment and drugs and Mr Turner desperately needed these.  

He was flown to the major trauma centre in Bristol in eight minutes. Without the air ambulance the likelihood is that he wouldn’t have survived.

Mr Turner said: “I just wanted to come and say thank you to the Critical Care Team. They saved my life and I’m so grateful. The amount of people that are there to help is incredible and you don’t realise until you are in that situation.”

Critical care paramedic, Pete Sadler, who treated Mr Turner, said: “I was really touched that Louis and Adam should take the time and trouble to come and thank us after all they have been through.”

The Great Western Air Ambulance relies completely on charity donations to fund the £2 million needed each year to remain operational.

For more information visit www.gwaac.com.