Air Ambulance Victoria diverts to NSW in life‑saving mission

WAGGA WAGGA, NSW. — Despite electrical storms preventing Air Ambulance Victoria from flying a time-critical cardiac arrest patient to Melbourne, the quick-thinking crew saved the life of a Tangambalanga local when the decision was made to fly north into New South Wales for the urgent care he needed.

The Air Ambulance Victoria crew worked with Ambulance Victoria Flight Coordinators and New South Wales Health to ensure Wagga Wagga Base Hospital was ready to receive 63-year-old Colin Craig, whose life was hanging in the balance after going into cardiac arrest in his Tangambalanga home in February.

It was only the second time in 10 years that Air Ambulance Victoria had transported a Victorian patient by Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) to the Wagga Wagga Health Service for emergency care.

Colin had been relaxing after dinner with his wife, Ria, when he suddenly became unresponsive.

“His body did a funny jerk and he did not respond,” Ria said. “My phone wasn’t working properly, so I called out to our neighbour Kristine, who is a nurse. She came across immediately with her partner, Brett, who is with the CFA, as well as our other neighbours, Claire and Jayden, who are a nurse and an army medic. Very handy people to have nearby in a medical emergency!

“They realised Colin was seriously unwell, called Triple Zero (000) and started performing CPR on him.”

Callum Harrison, a Tangambalanga local and GoodSAM Responder, received and accepted the GoodSAM alert on his phone and was directed to collect the closest automated external defibrillator (AED) from the local Lions Club before heading to Ria and Colin’s house.

GoodSAM is a free mobile app that connects patients in cardiac arrest with a nearby volunteer who is willing to begin hands-only CPR while paramedics are on their way.

Upon Callum’s arrival, high-quality CPR was underway in rotation by Jayden, Claire, Kristine and another GoodSAM Responder, Lisa. Callum quickly introduced himself and applied the AED to Colin’s chest, delivering six life-saving shocks.

When Ambulance Victoria paramedics arrived shortly thereafter, they were pleased to see the chain of survival in place.

A team of Advanced Life Support (ALS), Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) and specialist Air Ambulance Victoria paramedics responded to Colin’s case, highlighting the severity of his situation.

Ambulance Victoria Paramedic Educator Patrick Gleeson said the stars aligned for a fantastic outcome for Colin.

“Due to the high-quality CPR that was performed by Callum, Jayden, Claire, Kristine and Lisa, alongside the six shocks delivered with the AED, we were able to work together and achieve ROSC (Return of Spontaneous Circulation) which meant that Colin’s heart was beating on its own once again,” he said.

“Colin essentially received world-class, intensive care level treatment on his living room floor in Tangambalanga – it was quite extraordinary.”

Paramedics performed an Electrocardiogram (ECG), ventilated Colin, monitored his heart rhythm, administered pain relief and sedated him before transporting him by road ambulance to Albury Airfield to rendezvous with the HEMS flight crew.

MICA Flight Paramedic Nick Roder met the road crew at Albury Airfield and took over Colin’s emergency medical care.

“Our ALS and MICA paramedics did an excellent job delivering world-class emergency care to Colin, and by the time he was with us, his presentation had improved a lot,” he said. “Their post-cardiac arrest management saved Colin from living with permanent brain damage.

“To add to the complexity of this case, we were unable to transport Colin to Melbourne due to electrical storms at the time, so we worked with our excellent Flight Coordinators and New South Wales Health to fly Colin to Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, something Ambulance Victoria has only done once before.

“When we landed, we received a heartwarming welcome from the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital cardiology team.” Nick reflected. “Colin’s case highlights how quick[l]y healthcare teams work together to adapt.”