Following on from the two places the team had for the April 2004 course (see previous news entry), team members John Carlin and Chris Greenhalgh attended this autumn’s 2 day Medical Aid and Extrication Course, held at Warrington Hospital. Organised jointly by North Cheshire Hospitals and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, our two members attending were introduced to the management of trauma, principally at RTAs, and safety awareness at such accidents. There was also a chance to observe, and then use, Fire Service extrication equipment, and the casualty care equipment likely to be required at such an incident.

Instructing on the course was team member Alistair Greenough, who works as an A&E Nurse at Warrington Hospital.

Both John and Chris were able to draw on their own experiences previous to the course. John spent some time in the mountains of Canada, as a member of a volunteer fire service (and also the local Search & Rescue team), whilst Chris has just finished his basic training as a new Firefighter with GMFRS. (Incidentally, he will take up his post at his first station, Higher Broughton, Salford, shortly), so both already had familiarity with the cutting gear used, more familiarly known as the “Jaws of Life.”

This course is a fantastic opportunity for team members to improve their skills at RTA’s (we do get a few RTA incidents!) and to bring those skills back into the team, and we are grateful to North Cheshire Hospitals and particularly team member Alistair Greenough, for arranging (yet again) two places on this course.