Casualty Care (advanced first aid) training

Team training always concentrates on providing the best possible emergency care to the casualties we treat. The focus is on stabilising casualties and improving their condition, before passing them on through other services, such as the Ambulance Service, Air Ambulance or Coastguard Helicopter, to eventually reach hospital.

The challenge for a mountain rescue team is that we may have to manage badly injured or very ill patients for extended periods due to the remote areas they are located in. Obviously very sick patients are prioritised for helicopter evacuation, but this is not always possible due to weather. This means considerations for weather, such as hypothermia, as well as keeping casualties hydrated and even fed in some extreme circumstances.

During June we focussed sessions on different types of conditions such as

• the more common types of incident, such as lower leg/ankle injuries, mountain biker injuries, chest pain etc.

• more unusual incidents, such as snake bites, heat stroke etc.

The month culminated in an exercise where no one knew what to expect! The training team laid on a multi casualty scenario involving a crashed helicopter (with a hatchback car taking the place of the cockpit!), complete with fake blood, smoke bombs and explosions! It may not be our "bread and butter", but it was an interesting way to test our multi casualty triage processes, working in confined spaces and with urgent time pressures. It certainly got everyone working quickly and efficiently!

The pictures show the final exercise with the "helicopter crash" incident.

Thanks to https://www.babsboardwellweddings.co.uk/ for the photographs.