Great North Air Ambulance Service

A woman who was involved in a serious car crash just one day after losing her mother has praised the air ambulance team who came to her aid.

Helen Dinsdale, 70, of Whittingham in Northumberland, was driving home from Tyneside, where her mother had resided before sadly passing away.

She had spent the day making funeral arrangements and in the late afternoon she was travelling along the A697 when she decided to visit her pony Misty.

She said: “It had been a difficult few days; my mother passed away the previous evening and there had been a lot of driving up and down to see her in her last days in a nursing home in Howdon.

“The last thing I remember was thinking that instead of going straight home I would check that my pony Misty was ok. She was on a farm about three miles away from us, so I passed the turnoff to Whittingham and kept going up the A697. I didn't get far.”

Mrs Dinsdale was travelling north when her car collided with an articulated lorry carrying large pieces of stone, which was travelling south on the single carriageway.

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) was called out to the incident, which was near Low Barton, and the road was closed by Northumbria police to allow the aircraft to land nearby.

Mrs Dinsdale was cut free from her car and was given a blood transfusion by the doctor and paramedic team from GNAAS before being airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle.

She had sustained a fractured skull, head injuries, a broken ankle, sternum, pelvis, fingers, and several broken ribs.

She said: “I had several operations over the following year, a lot of metal inserted into various bones, and an artificial ligament put into the back of my right hand. I was in hospital for nearly six weeks and once home, spent the next four months in a bed in the dining room, until finally I could walk on crutches and climb stairs.”

Despite the incident happening in May 2017, Mrs Dinsdale is still grateful for the help she received and recently got in touch with GNAAS expressing her gratitude to the critical care team who treated her.

She said: “I still give thanks every day for GNAAS. Without them, I would not have survived. The treatment I received at the roadside, and my swift airlift to hospital was indeed the difference between life and death.

“There is very little I can't manage to do that I want to do. I still enjoy short hill walks and looking after my garden. I have a great deal to be thankful for.

“However, the younger members of my friends and family are most disappointed in me for getting a ride in a helicopter and having no memory of it.”

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