Sean and I were quite happily sat at home yesterday when the pager went off for an area call. As Sean called out the grid reference, I tried working out where it was…until Sean called out the location. “Abertridwr.” “I…what?!” I grabbed my pager and laptop and threw the grid reference into StreetMap – sure enough, it was a callout just off the top end of Abertridwr.
Jamming my shoes and jacket on quickly, Sean and I ran out and drove off. Arriving on scene, I texted one of our senior guys who I knew was en route and quickly changed into my boots and a hi-viz. I could see someone standing up by a small quarry uphill from us and Sean and I headed up the scene. A young lad had broken his leg and the ambulance crew were already on scene. We had a few interesting moments but apparently they’d already called 169 to come and assist and apart from covering them in a KISU tent and trying to organise a winching location for the helo, there wasn’t much for us to do. I had the amusing moment of clearing the scene of helmet-less people (mainly police) but other than that it was a fairly rapid and uneventful callout. 7 mins from pager to being on-scene and I think we were stood down within about an hour.
Couple of things come to mind though as I look back and analyse my own actions. I was very aware that although I’d joined First Responders to get some experience of dealing with scenes, this one threw me because I’d concentrated so much on the medical and there was nothing for me to do here – there was a paramedic on scene. I did have concerns about their health at one point since it was damnably cold up there, but 169 shocked us all as it suddenly appeared from over the hill and we were gone before it became an issue.
So, in retrospect, and knowing that hindsight is 20:20, what I could have done better:
- Got a better handover from the ambulance crew. To be fair, the paramedic was being a little brusque and somewhat territorial with his casualty, and while I could have been more assertive, it wouldn’t have benefited the casualty any unless 169 would have taken another hour or so.
- Got my KISU tent out. It was cold up there, but I was mainly trying to get a handle on the scene and get in contact with the rest of the team whilst Mike (who arrived a few minutes after I did) got his KISU tent out.
I think I did OK, certainly room for improvement, something I suspect will come with experience. I certainly think that had we remained there for any length of time I would have chosen a number of actions – got the ambulance crew out before they got hypothermic; got the casualty in a cas bag; moved him onto our stretcher off of the ambulance’s scoop stretcher; certainly I would have offered the casualty some Entonox I think – the Paramedic was sure that the kid was OK with his pain (until he nudged his leg), but I’m not sure how much of that was bravado on the young lad’s part. He refused my offer of Entonox since the casualty was hypothermic – it’s a controversial subject since it’s not technically contraindicated for hypothermic casualties and so long as the cylinder is above -4 celsius it should be ok (you have to shake it first when it’s cold just to make sure it’s mixed). My biggest concern would be monitoring his consciousness levels given that both hypothermia and Entonox can in extreme cases affect it.
Anyway, some food for thought. Good result and the young man seemed to be happy as he got his first helicopter flight, his leg momentarily forgotten as 6.5 tons of noisy, yellow helicopter thundered overhead.
Tags: 169, entonox, Mountain Rescue, quarry, rescue
Thanks for posting this, I live right opposite where the rescue was carried out. Well done guys.
I too was feeling like a bit of a spare part after that one. We got there just after Mike. Knowing that there was a paramedic on scene, along with yourself and Mike, and that we didn’t have any team kit, I decided I might make myself more useful at the soon-to-be control point. Here’s what I got up to:
Phoned you to see what was happening
Phoned Huw in Lima to give him directions, which he heard wrong and took a wrong turning,
Grabbed the casualty’s friends and sat them in the car to stop them getting more hypothermic than they already were.
Found a parking spot for atleast 6/7 cars, which became obsolete as Pete blocked the road at the bottom of the hill.
Helped Les reverse Alpha, but he didn’t follow my signals and nearly bumped a car.
Stood in control like a idiot waiting for somebody to repeat a message sent to somebody who wasn’t there, on a channel that wasn’t actually being manned.
Directed some team members to the casualty site when they knew where they were going.
Passed your message about needing helmets on site, which was then obvious as 169 was overhead.
Got Lou to take the casualties friends to be debriefed by Pete, which he did in two minutes. They went back to running around at control.
Got the camera out but missed the winch as a local started talking to me…
Well, I suppose its the thought that counts…
M.
I could have beaten the 7 mins turnout time if I was still in the team 😉
I hope our lot behaved themselves !
Reading your posts, I was a little un-nerved to find it all just a bit ‘look at me, arent I wonderful’ while the paramedics and police are getting a bit of a battering from you……
Whilst you do a wonderful job, (I know many in mountain rescue), are you as qualified as the paramedics at the scene? If so, take it up with them if you disagree, if not talk to someone who is qualified to get their opinion before opening it up to members of the public.
Do the public really need to read you openly challenging what a paramedic is / should / would have done…….They have to contend with alot of shit in their profession! I wouldnt have thought they would want it from you also when aren’t you all on the same side?
Helping people is a thankless calling for most of the time and I know alot of professionals who just take pride in knowing that they have helped save a life without splashing every little detail all over a blog, some of which I dont actually think should be aired.
I apologise if that’s the attitutde you think I’m taking here – I can assure you that this blog isn’t about self-aggrandisation. I have a huge amount of respect for the folks who work for the Police as well as the Ambulance service – be they paramedics or technicians.
No, we’re not as qualified as a paramedic. However, just because you’re more qualified doesn’t mean you’re always right. Situations like this always contain a certain amount of personal opinion and that will always be open to debate. Specifically, I’m never looking to berate anyone for making mistakes, only to learn. Now, that’s not to say that there was a mistake in this situation, only that there are debateable points arising from the incident. I won’t go into any further detail on here because of privacy, but feel free to email me directly if you want to talk about it further (aled at thinknuts.net).
The fact of the matter is that I have discussed this with people more qualified than I am. The general response has been that we could both be right, it would depend on the circumstances.
I see no issue in challenging someone’s opinion on a matter – especially since I’m not saying that I’m absolutely right and he was absolutely wrong. Yes, they contend with a lot of shit – I know this from first-hand experience having been a First Responder for a while as well as spending time out third manning with paramedics and technicians. I have nothing but respect for them and the job they do, but that doesn’t mean I should never challenge them, even if all that happens is that I’m wrong and I learn something.
I’m not sure which comment you’re taking exception to here – the one about the entonox or the one about the territorial attitude. The territorial attitude is something we occasonally come across and it is frustrating because, as you say, we are on the same side. To be honest, it’s very disheartening when we are asked to provide assistance because the scenario is one that falls within our area of expertise (implying that it’s outside the area of expertise of the organisations already on scene) and then we’re treated as a bunch of have-a-go’s instead of the proffesionals we work damn hard to be. Especially since we’re not getting paid for this. It’s like turning up to a burning house and then ignoring the advice of the fire service. Now, to be fair, it’s extremely rare for this to happen and the rapport we have with the Fire, Police, Ambulance, Coastguard, Cave Rescue and a host of other organisations too numerous to mention, is indeed excellent. It’s just now and again something happens that makes you stop and think.
Indeed – I’m happy with my role during this incident and I’m glad we could help. I do take offence at the suggestion that “every little detail [is] splashed over [my] blog” – I do think hard about the comments that I make on here before they’re posted. I’ve been around the Internet long enough to know that people take writings like this as gospel and things can come back to bite you on the ass. However, this site reflects my opinion. If you think that opinion is wrong, then comment or email me and I’ll happy post a retraction or explanation detailing exactly why I was wrong – nobody’s perfect.
I also disagree with your opinion that anything in this blog post shouldn’t be aired. In case my judgement was clouded by the fact that it’s my blog, I’ve sought the opinion of several people some within the team, some from outside. The only comment I’ve had back (from Sean as it happens) that was negative, was that by posting the location, the incident was identifiable and so anyone who knows who was working on this incident would be able to identify them. I took that as fair criticism, but there’s nothing that I’ve said up here that I wouldn’t say to their faces. In fact, I actively went to seek out two people after the callout. One had already left, and the other – the Sargeant with whom I was a little curt when I asked him to move his people away from the scene – I apologised for being so curt with him, but with a helo thundering overhead and people on scene without suitable protective gear, there are limitations to communication. The Sargeant accepted my comment and said that he hadn’t thought my comment or behaviour was out of line in any way and noted that he’d been considering the same course of action himself.
I hope this explains a bit more what I’ve said. You are, of course, entitled to your opinion, as am I. If you feel uncomfortable discussing this in public, please email me – I’m happy to accept criticism, so long as you’re happy to accept that my opinion may be different to yours. 🙂
Definately happy to accept that our opinions are going to differ, thats life.
I think in writing your blogs you are bringing much needed attention to the dangers people can face and the work that has to be carried out to help people who get into these scrapes.
I also think that without Mountain Rescue there would be a few less people living to tell the tale from a walk / hike that has gone so badly wrong when the police / ambulance couldnt get to them to help them.
It was the public critiscm of a fellow professional organization on an open forum which i found a little un-nerving. Are you implying the paramedics are not trained for all situations! This concerns me because what other situations are they unable to deal with effectively?
I am now worried that if i am ever in a situation where i need help on a mountain will i question that paramedic? Do you think that they need more training in this area?
Thank you. I sincerely appreciate your comments, as do my team mates (I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me speaking for them here).
Sorry if you found it un-nerving. I believe that information is very powerful and that some information should be disseminated widely so that the public can understand that not only do the emergency services do a very difficult job, but at the end of the day, we’re all human beings. We’re all prone to having bad days, making mistakes, and all the rest that being human means. It also means we care about the people we have to look after – which is both a strength and a weakness.
You’ll probably not be aware that I’m very careful what I put in my blog posts. Not everything makes it – in fact, on most callouts, there are things that don’t make it. Things that I decide shouldn’t be publicised. That’s my decision, my responsibility and I live with it. There are in fact callouts that have never made the blog at all – things that I think probably should be publicised, but this was the wrong forum and the wrong time for it. So, I do think carefully about everything that goes up here.
Absolutely. Are you implying that they’re trained for absolutely every single situation they come across? To take a pertinent example – does every Paramedic have suitable training to deal with a casualty on a rockface? On a hill in the worst weather imaginable? In a cave? No, of course not – otherwise we (and others) wouldn’t be here.
I can’t possibly answer for them on this. I think one of the greatest strengths of the British emergency services is that we all work together, each with our own speciality to cover whatever situation we come across – I certainly know that Mountain Rescue has been used in “original” ways when our skills can be applied to a situation you may not necessarily associate with us.
I don’t know what medical training you have so I can’t comment on what your actions should be. What I do know for sure is that there isn’t any paramedic, technician or mountain rescue medic that I’ve ever met that would do anythign other than consider the patient’s best interests when deciding what course of action to take.
On the mountain? Difficult question for me as I’m biased. If they do get more training, then that’s the end of Mountain Rescue as we know it and hey – I enjoy this. 🙂
I don’t think that multi-agency exercises would harm anyone – to train so that we each know better the other organisations’ limits and capbilities – I suspect that most policemen, firemen and paramedics have don’t know what we can do and so don’t use us to our full potential – but I’m sure that every emergency service will tell you that multi-agency training is a good idea.