May 13 2007
Incident 89/2007
At 15:40, our Team Leader was contacted direct by NWAS PEC Control for some help with an incident location in the Wigan area that was for a short time proving difficult to locate (they were using our local area knowledge of local place names).
A young boy had fallen into the rocky bed of a stream in some woodland, had correctly phoned 999, but was not able to give a location other than a local place name.
It was quickly established where he was, and due to his location the team was requested to also attend, with a full team pager call going out at 15:45.
Our first team members in a Team Landrover arrived on scene at 16:09 in the vicinity of Ackhurst Hall Farm, Gathurst, followed by the NWAS Ambulance also dispatched (which had arrived in the vicinity shortly before but could not locate the boy’s position).
As other team members arrived, and faced with a large area of woodland to look into, two local residents suggested and then led an initial party into the woods, saying “if there’s been an accident, it’ll be in this area.”
Team Leader Garry Rhodes, checks the Troll Stretcher, before the carry to the waiting land ambulance.
Well they proved the wisdom of following such advice, as they led us and the NWAS crew straight to where the 12 year old boy had fallen off his bike whilst in the company of two friends (who had stayed with him) and had landed in the rocky stream bed of Ackhurst Brook, sustaining a knee injury.
His leg was quickly placed into a vacuum splint, and a small party of Bolton MRT members then stretcher evacuated the young boy out of the steep sided wooded stream valley and into the comfort of the nearby Ambulance – throughout this incident, it was raining steadily. We also recovered the young boy’s mountain bike for him.
Casualty, waiting to be transferred onto the Ambulance stretcher.
By 16:51 the Ambulance departed for Wigan Hospital. We later established from the boy’s family that he had fortunately only suffered bruising and soft tissue injuries to his knee.
Three Bolton MRT Landrover Ambulances responded to this incident, with 15 team members directly involved and a further six stood down responding as not required on this incident (not forgetting of course the NWAS Standish Ambulance Station crew also involved)
Thanks also to the staff at NWAS Belle Vue PEC, who constantly guided and assisted us to the (ultimate) casualty location.
Aug 15 2007
Incident 116/2007
As team members were just getting into the start of one of our routine Wednesday evening search and rescue exercises (the scenario being a fallen climber and missing informant, in the Ousel Nest Quarry area overlooking Jumbles Reservoir), our Team Leader was contacted directly by NWAS (Greater Manchester Area) Paramedic Emergency Control at around 20:26 requesting the immediate assistance of the team at an incident on the fringe of the moors above Horwich.
The initial report was of an injured Mountain Biker in the vicinity of Georges Lane, near to Rivington Pike, and team members quickly returned to the exercise RVP and as quickly as possible those in their private vehicles followed the responding three Team Landrover Ambulances.
Our first Landrover Ambulances to reach the incident location, BM2 and BM4 arrived on scene at 20:37, locating the casualty site as just off Georges Lane in the vicinity of Wilderswood, above Horwich.
A 24 year old very experienced male mountain biker had fallen from his bike and eventually came to rest face down complaining of back and hip pains.
His equally experienced companion (an ex-RNLI Lifeboatman apparently) correctly made sure his injured friend didn’t move and contacted the Ambulance Service.
Within minutes more team members arrived and very quickly commenced treating the injured mountain biker for suspected hip and lower back problems.
By this stage the responding NWAS Emergency Ambulance also arrived, with one of the crew knowing us from working with us on #article#1619#Incident 89# this year.
The 24 year old man was carefully placed onto a full length vacuum mattress, whilst all the time under the self administration of Entonox pain killing gas.
By 21:05 the injured mountain biker had been carefully transported on one of our mountain rescue stretchers into the Ambulance, which then departed for the Royal Bolton Hospital.
Team member Chris Moody then kindly transported the man’s mountain bike to hids nearby Horwich home.
In all 21 Bolton MRT members were involved in this incident, working alongside the responding NWAS (GMA) Emergency Ambulance crew from Standish Ambulance Station, all with considerable help from the Emergency Dispatchers at NWAS (GMA) Belle Vue Paramedic Emergency Control.
By admin • 2007, Incident • Tags: MountainBiker