Great North Air Ambulance Service

An Alston woman who went into cardiac arrest and suffered a stroke has been reunited with the air ambulance pilot and paramedic who helped save her life.

Julia Richardson, 52, was at home with her partner and son in May 2023 when she alerted them that she was having chest pains.

Mrs Richardson had experienced chest pains the previous night, but they wore off, however this time they weren’t going away, and the emergency services were called.

A community first responder arrived at the house, as well as Julia’s daughter Kimberley Frazer who had received a call from her dad telling her what had happened.

Mrs Frazer said: “Not long after I arrived, Mam went into cardiac arrest and I started CPR on her.”

Both CPR and defibrillation commenced, and the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) requested the assistance of the critical care team from the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) as the location was quite remote.

They had just airlifted an injured motorcyclist to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle and after restocking their blood supply at the hospital, they flew to Alston.

The community first responder and team from NWAS delivered several shocks to Mrs Richardson’s heart and they managed to get it beating again.

Soon afterwards, the team from GNAAS arrived and they put Mrs Richardson into a medically induced coma to protect her brain and secure her airway.

She was flown from her home to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle in just 12 minutes while her family drove to the hospital and awaited further updates.

Mrs Frazer said: “Theo, the doctor from GNAAS, met us in A&E and he was really good and gave us an update on what he’d done and what was happening and kept us in the loop.”

"Looking back, I don't think we then understood the severity of the situation going forward.

“I remember saying to my husband, Nathan, I'm not leaving until she's sat up talking to us. But once we were allowed to go in and see her the doctor spoke with us, and we were told to prepare ourselves for the next several months."

Mrs Richardson remained in a coma for ten days and stayed in hospital for just over three weeks before returning home and has been receiving support from a range of specialists including physiotherapists, psychologists and neuropsychologists.

She said: “They helped me start walking straight away, improved my balance and supported me being outside on my own. I was in an exercise group in Penrith with stroke patients for seven months before being discharged from the stroke team.

“They’re also supporting me going back to work and eventually going back to driving.”

Since the incident, Mrs Richardson’s workplace Grisedale Court have held a fundraising event for GNAAS, and she also set up a birthday fundraiser on Facebook which collectively raised £649 for the charity.

In addition to this, she recently reunited with the pilot and paramedic from GNAAS who helped her and was given a tour of the charity’s base in Langwathby, Penrith,

Mrs Richardson said: “I must admit I was a bit nervous coming to the base because I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m glad I have met the team.

“I didn’t realise they delivered pre-hospital care. I thought GNAAS were there to get you from a to b quicker, but actually they have a critical care team on board, including a doctor who can treat you.

Mrs Frazer added: “Alston is such a small community and everyone knows Mam so I think it’s given people a shock that it can happen to anyone.

“Until you’ve used GNAAS in a situation like this, you don’t have the same appreciation for them at all.”

GNAAS needs to raise £8.5m a year to remain operational. To find out more about how you can support the charity visit: gna.as/fund247

About GNAAS

• The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is a charitably funded air ambulance service which provides life-saving care throughout the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Isle of Man.
• They operate two helicopters 365 days a year and also operate a night-time service in the North East and Cumbria on rapid response vehicles.
  
  
• The aircraft cover an area of more than 8,000 square miles and on board are specialist doctors and paramedics who effectively bring the hospital to the patient.
  
  
• The level of skill and expertise of the on-board team mean they respond to the most critically ill and injured people, giving them the best chance of survival.
  
  
• GNAAS is a progressive organisation which has pioneered pre-hospital care in the region.
  
• The latest techniques, equipment and drugs are constantly being evaluated to ensure the charity can provide the best care possible for their patients.
  
  
• 2022 marked the service providing 20 years of life-saving care. Throughout this time, they have responded to more than 23,500 incidents across the region, with road traffic collisions being the most frequent type of incident responded to by the team.
  
  
• They do not receive Government funding and must therefore raise £8.5m a year through public donations to remain operational.

For more information visit: https://www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/ or follow @gnairambulance on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

For press enquiries please email media@gnaas.com or call 07554453494