Medivac training diverts to real crash

| 09/07/2019 | 15 Comments
Cayman News Service
RCIPS AOU officers and EMT staff were first on the scene of the crash

(CNS): Paramedic Shawn Kelly from the HSA took to the skies in the police chopper with the RCIPS Air Operations Unit crew on Saturday morning in a familiarisation exercise, but it wasn’t long before the training deployment turned into a real emergency. During the flight the helicopter received a report about a serious crash in Bodden Town, where a vehicle with three people had overturned.

A decision was therefore made by the crew to respond and were the first to arrive on the scene, landing the helicopter in a nearby open field.

Tactical Flight Officer and Deputy Unit Commander Neil Mohammed assisted Kelly in conducting the initial assessments of the injured people and relaying the information to the ambulances on route. Emergency services, police and fire officers arrived and the three injured people were taken to hospital, where they were all treated for non-life-threatening injuries and discharged.

But the incident enabled the AOU team to provide assistance in a real situation, which TFO Mohammed said provided the opportunity “to put our training with our HSA partners into practice”.

Kelly added that being first on scene, they were able to assess the situation and triage the patients for handover to his EMS colleagues. He added, “It was an invaluable experience to have as part of this training. Incidents like this reinforce the importance of the work that we are doing together with the RCIPS.”

The single-vehicle crash took place on Anton Bodden Drive and was one of many smashes over the weekend.

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Category: Health, Local News, Medical Health

Comments (15)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    This could all have been avoided if we’d bought an Apache gunship. That could then be tasked with liquidating all Hondas on the road, thereby reducing the need to attend crashes anyhow.

  2. Bertie : B says:

    How much are you or one of your relatives worth in an emergency situation ?

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  3. Leroy Parker says:

    @9:05, you are on to something there! In some countries, that is exactly what happens, however, in this case, I wouldn’t totally agree that the parties should be billed since the chopper was already on an exercise and it proved to assist them in their otherwise would have been simulated exercise. In relation to response, the Bermuda Fire Service are first responders and are highly trained EMTs. As a matter of fact, persons injured would rather have the fire service EMTs attend to them that they do the hospital EMTs. Why can’t we train our fire oficers to be EMTs and respond to these incidents? It would make ensure adequate and proper response as well as treatment of patients at scenes. Something worth exploring.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    for once politicians doing something right…and on public favor…buy another helicopter!!!! we alreqdy see the good it is providing and saving lives….

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Surely this operation has proved how valuable this helicopter is. Despite all the critics posted, no one in his right mind can deny the need for this. It has already proven the need by transporting the sick and injured from sister islands to GC. The cooperation with RCIPS for its use in a number of ways, whether combatting crime to assisting in life saving operations has been a great asset. Well done to all concerned.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    How much did this little “exercise” cost us? Bill the party involved!

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