SCAS paramedic Will Selley involved in Nepal earthquake rescue efforts

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) and Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) Paramedic Will Selley returns from taking part in the rescue effort following the tragic earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015.

Will volunteers for the charity Search and Rescue Assistance in Disasters (SARAID) in his spare time. On 26 April he formed part of a team of 16 that would travel the 4483 miles from Heathrow to Nepal in a bid to work alongside others to rescue as many people as possible from the disaster hit areas.

Despite training in Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) for almost nine years this was Will’s first deployment abroad in response to a natural disaster. As a HART Paramedic, Will is trained to work in a number of different environments, of which USAR is one.

Both SCAS and SARAID utilise similar equipment and working practices making skills readily transferrable between the two.

Once in the country the team was assigned a sector in the capital city of Kathmandu. Will’s team joined forces with a German USAR dog team to enhance their capabilities and therefore the chance of finding more survivors. They were tasked to identify areas within this sector where people may still have been trapped within the rubble. As the only paramedic assigned to that specific sector, Will was not only responsible for any recovered casualties, he was also responsible for the health and well-being of his fellow teammates.

When discussing the multiagency response Will said: “At one point during the deployment there were up to 2500 USAR workers performing a number of crucial roles in the country.