Incident 35/2009

With team members at our Ladybridge Hall Base/HQ this evening for our routine Wednesday evening training, our Team Leader who was present at our Base/HQ received a direct mobile phone call from NWAS (Greater Manchester) Control at 20:18 requesting the team’s assistance at a nearby cycling accident on the Middle Brook pathway in the vicinity of Overdale Drive, Bolton.

Whilst team members arranged themselves into our response vehicles, our team leader Garry Rhodes and team member Steve Fletcher drove the short distance to the RVP at the end of Overdale Drive, arriving at 20:27, to be directed by a number of members of the public to the incident scene alongside the Middle Brook river.

Shortly after our team leader arrived on scene, the responding NWAS emergency ambulance, from Atherton ambulance station, also arrived. Our Team Leader and team member Steve Fletcher then went to the incident location with the two ambulance crew as the rest of the team met and were held at the Overdale Drive RVP.

Upon arrival at the incident scene our team members and the ambulance crew found a 32 year old male pedal cyclist who had suffered a very painful complete dislocation of his right shoulder. He was being cared for and comforted by a number of young teenagers who had come to his assistance when he fell from his bike. A passer by, Naresh Patel, was supporting the injured man and offering considerable comfort to him.

Due to a large number of people being available for our training session, a wide range of team member talents could be deployed on this incident, and the casualty care of this very serious injury was carried out in association with the two responding NWAS emergency ambulance staff by team Doctors (both A&E experience) Clare Whitney and Sarah Drake. Entonox painkilling gas was taken by the casualty along with I.V. strong painkilling drugs, before his injury could be splinted.

He was placed onto a Bell Mountain Rescue stretcher in a semi-recumbent position, and with the evacuation commencing at 21:11 was very carefully and very slowly (in view of his still considerable pain) carried on our stretcher along the Middle Brook to the rendezvous with the NWAS Emergency Ambulance which had relocated to Middlebrook Drive, Lostock, circa 1 mile from where the accident took place.

The 32 year old male casualty was placed in the ambulance at 22:05, and taken to Royal Bolton Hospital.

Our Doctor, Sarah Drake, accompanied the casualty to hospital, assisting the Ambulance crew en-route.

Later this same evening, the casualty’s dislocated shoulder was put back in place in Hospital, following the administration of more painkilling drugs and sedatives.

In total we had 34 members involved in this incident, which was coordinated from our Ladybridge Hall Base/HQ.

The team would like to comment on the excellent working relationship we had on this incident with the NWAS Ambulance crew concerned and also for the help given as usual by our friends at NWAS Belle Vue Control.

We would also like to comment on the initial help given to this casualty by nearby young teenagers and to Naresh Patel, who stayed with the casualty, comforting him until our evacuation commenced.

Part-way through this incident, the team was requested by NWAS (Manchester) to attend another incident.