Paramedics come to the rescue at Blackpool Dipper incident
Thursday, 03 September, 2009
Paramedics working for the North West Ambulance Service found themselves working at an unusually high height when they were called out to a major incident at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
On Tuesday 11 August the Trust received an emergency call at 19.50pm after the Big Dipper at this popular Theme park had crashed.
Paramedics arrived on scene within minutes not knowing what to expect and, with the help of Fire crews, they made the ascent up ladders carrying equipment and began to treat and triage patients on scene at approximately 40 foot off the ground.
Fifteen ambulance crew members attended the incident to treat patients and worked using three emergency ambulance vehicles plus additional support from HDS and PTS vehicles to transport a total of 28 patients to Blackpool Victoria Hospital. The NWAS Urban Search and Rescue division were also activated to this incident to give additional support.
As a result of the crash, there were three patients with serious but non life threatening injuries which needed hospital treatment immediately; two of which were extricated down from the ride using a cradle stretcher supplied by the Fire crews. There were a total of 25 other patients with minor injuries who were treated on scene and led down to safety via the attending emergency personnel; these patients were subsequently taken to hospital.
Dave Rigby, Sector Manager for the Fylde Area of the North West Ambulance Service said: "Our ambulance crews worked extremely hard at an unnatural height to ensure every patient involved in the accident was helped to safety and treated for injuries they had sustained. They did this without fear for their own safety.
"Due to the popularity of the resort and given the incident took place during peak season there were lots of people watching which created an immensely stressful environment for our crews to work in. This was a very unusual incident and I'm extremely proud of the way the crews handled it."
North West Ambulance Service places patient care at the forefront of everything it does. The Trust's emergency service provides urgent medical care for those who need it and it will continue to work hard to serve the people of the North West as quickly and safely as possible.
