Muddy but steady V Festival for the East of England Ambulance Service
Friday, 27 August, 2010
Richard Branson, head of the Virgin empire, stops by to thank paramedic Jacks Christie and technician Tracy Gurney for their work in helping the event run smoothly.
Emergency crews and volunteers working at this year's V Festival in Hylands Park, Chelmsford, are reflecting on a busy but successful few days treating patients.
EEAST was on site between Friday morning and Monday night, and as always worked with St John Ambulance volunteers to give first aid and answer emergency calls. Life was made a little more challenging for staff and revellers alike who had to contend with the very muddy conditions caused by the weekend rain, but several specialist vehicles including those operated by the Hazardous Area Response Team were brought in to help get around the site more easily.
In total, 54 people were taken to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, for further care. Ambulance staff saw 323 patients, while St John's volunteers attended 938 incidents. Many people were taken ill but not seriously so, and others suffered minor injuries such as dislocations and cuts.
The campsites were also covered by crews. In one incident on Friday, two young men were changing a gas cylinder at their tent which then exploded, causing the tent to catch fire. Both were taken to hospital suffering some burns.
Jon Moore, who was on Silver command for the weekend and is the manager for the west Essex area, was aided by emergency planning manager Gareth Boynton. Jon said the lower figures were very positive. "It's the 15th year of the V Festival, and with the planning which all organisations put into it and more resources available, including crews, doctors, emergency care practitioners and nurses, there comes a lower number of patients who need to be conveyed to hospital. "This is also helped immensely by working with the St John Ambulance
volunteers to coordinate first aid and deal with more serious patients on site as far as we can. I'd like to thank all of those who worked over the weekend to ensure our operations could run smoothly.
"The mud did make things difficult, but generally speaking, bearing in mind the fact that nearly 88,000 people attended both days and we had 68,000 campers, it does put the patient numbers into perspective."
