A Tenby man who survived an accident thanks to the Wales Air Ambulance service was on hand last week to greet their Royal Highnesses, The Prince and Princess of Wales, at the lifesaving charity’s new ‘patient and family room’.

The Wales Air Ambulance was honoured to welcome Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince and Princess of Wales, to its Llanelli headquarters last week (February 28).

During the visit Prince William and Princess Catherine officially opened the Charity’s new patient and family room. The Royal couple also met with emergency workers, supporters and past patients who have benefitted from the charity, including Richard Jones of Tenby who two years ago, was travelling in his work vehicle on the A40 when his life changed in a split second after a horrific crash left him with life-changing injuries.

On the afternoon of February 7, 2020, Richard, was approaching the Travellers Rest junction in Carmarthenshire. The 33-year-old can’t remember much about what happened, but witnesses have said that he hit the crash barrier, which then flung his Toyota Hilux pick up in the air and into a large sign and poles.

Wales Air Ambulance medics Dr Bob Tipping and Critical Care Practitioner Marc Allen attended the incident.

Richard showed signs of internal bleeding and received six units of blood products in total, administered by Bob and Marc at the roadside. Due to the severity of his injuries, they also gave him a general anaesthetic and put him onto a ventilator to control his breathing.

The Wales Air Ambulance medics then transferred Richard, via a road ambulance, to the nearest specialist centre for limb injuries. He underwent a partial amputation of his right leg at Morriston Hospital in Swansea.

Richard woke up in the Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) ten days later and, due to his condition, he doesn’t remember much about the accident.

Richard said: “One of the main flashbacks I have is being on the floor, not really knowing what’s happened but a guy in a red suit standing over me. I have been told that this was one of the crew from Wales Air Ambulance.

“I’ve always heard stories and read online about all the amazing things the Wales Air Ambulance did. However, I never really thought about the service before and never thought I’d end up needing their assistance.”

Immediately after the incident, a few members of the public rushed to Richard’s aid – including an ex-army medic Ian Thompson, who was passing and stopped to help.

A grateful Richard said: “What he did that day contributed towards saving my life as he luckily still kept his army splints and tourniquets in his boot and quickly put them on me before the emergency services arrived.”

Inspirational Richard, who worked in the building trade on an MOD site before his accident, is adapting to life without his leg.

Richard, who met his partner Michaela on the ITU ward when she tried to sell him and his family cakes for Dementia UK, welcomed their first baby boy Dougie Oscar Jones a year ago this month.

Richard, said he was honoured to attend the opening of the patient and family room, commenting: “I found the Prince of Wales to be very down to earth and he appeared to have an interest in what happened to me and asked questions about my prosthetic leg and recovery. It was a great day being part of such an amazing tribute to an incredible family.”

With Wales Air Ambulance’s new facility given the Royal seal of approval - the room, which was supported by 2wish Charity, will provide a safe, private and inviting space for families dealing with bereavement and trauma and was designed by patient liaison nurses Jo Yeoman and Hayley Whitehead-Wright as well as the children of the late father-of-two Arwel Davies, who tragically died in a road traffic accident, aged 40.

With the room dedicated in Arwel’s memory, his children Owen, 11, and Sofia, 8, chose what they wanted to be included in the room. The children also helped to paint the first part of the room and drew balloons in memory of their father, whose passion was hot-air ballooning. A specially-designed hot air balloon now hangs in the room as well as a framed picture that Owen drew in memory of the dad-of-two.

The Davies family, of Llandovery, spoke with Their Royal Highnesses privately in the room before Sofia presented Princess Catherine with a bouquet of flowers and Owen presented Prince William with a framed picture of the Charity’s helicopter.

Speaking after the royal visit, Arwel’s wife, Laura, said that the family were honoured and proud to be able to share Arwel’s memory with Their Royal Highnesses and it was a day they will treasure.

Laura said: “On behalf of myself, Owen, Sofia and the entire Davies family, I would like to extend our huge gratitude for what can only be described as an incredible day, where we had the huge privilege of visiting the Wales Air Ambulance base in Llanelli, for the opening of the patient and family room, in memory of our wonderful husband, father, son and brother, Arwel.

“The entire day was a reflection of the love that we all have for Arwel and we are all very proud to have shared with The Prince and Princess of Wales, our fond memories of Arwel, our adventures in the family hot air balloon, and to present to them the Patient and Family Room.

“We as a family will always be grateful for the time they spent with us and how they listened to our stories with kindness and compassion. They made Owen and Sofia feel incredibly special and told the children to “keep talking about Dadi” something we will certainly always do.”

Laura said the aftercare support the family had received from the Charity’s Patient Liaison Nurse, Jo Yeoman, had been incredibly beneficial.

She said: “The support that we as a family have received from Jo has been overwhelming since the moment she reached out to us. To share the day with Jo, along with her colleague Hayley, and all the Wales Air Ambulance crew and staff was very special to us.

“What has been created is a dedicated space for patients and their families to visit the Wales Air Ambulance base where they are welcomed to a safe and comfortable room to discuss patient treatment and to offer aftercare support for those that need it.

“For the Charity to have included Owen and Sofia from the planning stages through to the official opening of the room, was certainly an exciting project for the children to have been involved in and they have created memories for life.

“We sincerely hope that the Patient and Family room inspired by our loss can bring comfort to many families for years to come.”

Mental health support for emergency responders has long been a passion for The Prince of Wales, having previously served as both an Air Ambulance and an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot.

Jo Yeoman said: “It has been a pleasure to work with the Davies family to design the patient room especially involving the children to get their thoughts about what was needed for different age groups. The day went perfectly and we were very pleased that Arwel’s father, brother and sister could also be involved in the day which was made even more special to have Their Royal Highnesses there to officially open the room.”

Jo’s colleague, Hayley added: “It was a privilege to be a small part of the special occasion. The development of the patient and relative room is something that the aftercare team, charity staff and the Davies family have worked towards for several months, with the incredible support from 2wish.

“Everyone’s hard work has certainly paid off and the room will go on to serve those touched by our charity for years to come. To share the day with Their Royal Highnesses was an incredibly honour and something to be remembered forever.”

During the visit, Their Royal Highnesses also met some past patients and cardiac arrest survivors.

Former Wales and British and Irish Lions rugby international, James Hook, who is also an Ambassador for the Wales Air Ambulance, also attended the opening.

He said: “It was a real honour. I was fortunate enough to meet Arwel's family and talk to Owen and Sofia about their love of rugby. The family were all lovely and incredibly welcoming to myself and my wife Kim, as were the other guests and charity staff.

"The room itself is absolutely amazing. It's such a wonderful idea and will allow patients and families to feel safe and secure whilst talking with the Patient Liaison Nurses. It was a very special day and having The Prince and Princess of Wales attend seemed like a perfect fit. It was a privilege to be invited."

The royal visit also coincided with the announcement that Prince William would become a Royal Patron of the Wales Air Ambulance Charity – the first Welsh patronage for The Prince since receiving the title of Prince of Wales.

The Charity, which was founded on 1 March 2001, has completed almost 45,000 missions since its inception.

Sue Barnes, Chief Executive of the Wales Air Ambulance Charity, said: “It is an immense honour for our charity to welcome His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales as our Royal Patron. The Prince has first-hand experience of working in the unique and often challenging air ambulance environment.

“We look forward to our new relationship with The Prince as our charity continues to support a lifesaving service for the people of Wales.”