Monday the 7th of July 2010 I was on duty with the air ambulance base out of Thruxton. We had undergone an aircraft change that morning due to our current aircraft developing an overheating engine over the weekend, otherwise this was a normal day.
Around 1135 an emergency call had been made to the ambulance service indicating that a woman was found shouting for help by a passer by, who was out walking in an area called Waverly Plain near Brockenhurst in the New Forest, grid reference SU256-012. This person had sustained a leg injury while out walking her dog. It transpires she decided to take a short cut across a marsh area of the forest, but her passage became worse due to the terrain and conditions. This being a bog that was waterlogged, she kept sinking with every step until her knee gave way causing it to dislocate, and that is where she stayed until found.
Unfortunately the patient had slipped her mobile phone into her back pocket while out walking and this was now under water due to the patient now lying partly submerged in the marsh so she lost the means to alert the emergency services until her cries for help were acknowledged.
The emergency call was sent to the helimed base to attend an incident that was an access location issue. We were informed that a DMU was activated to the scene, and our flying time was 15 minutes from lift off to this location. On arrival we noticed the ambulance in a car park with the crew walking in a northerly direction with their response bags, so we back tracked to the direction they were walking as the grid we were given was slightly off course. This prompted us to be extra vigilant looking out for our casualty, and it was not long before we noticed a person waving their arms below in a barren area, with gorse shrubs and small clumps of trees, with the patient laying out in the open.
We carried out a site survey from the air and an area was located near the casualty that was safe for landing, and then we made our approach to the site. As the aircraft settled, the pilot was not happy as he noticed the aircraft was unstable so it was decided to abort and relocate to higher ground. Once settled I was given the thumbs up to leave the aircraft, and I was instructed to exit out to the front of the aircraft due to the undulating ground to the side and rear, as this would keep me clear of the disc on my exit. It was evident we were the first on scene so I took my response bag with me. I stopped to look for a path to reach the patient and I soon noticed that the ground was spongy under my feet. As I made my way across the marsh, the further I walked the worse it became and I was finding it difficult to find a safe passage. I managed to find what I thought was a firm patch only to find as I stepped onto it my leg sank into the bog causing me to loose my balance with the weight of my back pack. I fell forward sticking my arms out to support the fall but my arms disappeared into the bog with me ending up flat on my stomach. I managed to pull the bag off my back to allow me to pull myself up, and thankfully I managed to break free and stand up again. Eventually I reached the patient in one piece but rather wet in the process. My colleague was attempting to reach me from a different angle and as I turned around to warn him of the conditions I noticed him go down up to the top of his legs in the water and mud. I had visions of him disappearing, and it was at this point I decided it would be impossible to carry the patient out by normal means.
On examination of my patient it was evident that she had dislocated her left knee going by the angel of it, and it was a bonus that the patient was wearing shorts. The patient was in considerable pain through this ordeal, and I instructed my colleague to go back and collect the Entonox from the aircraft to assist with pain relief and asked for the canulation pack with a view to administering Morphine. Another idea that crossed my mind was to use the spinal board and use this devise as a platform to stand on. This worked very well, so off he went again back to the aircraft. By now the land crew had arrived at the scene and they were instructed to stay where they were for safety reasons, but assisted in passing the equipment to my colleague
By now the patient had used up the bottle of Entonox analgesia to control her pain and was feeling a little more comfortable, so the next course of action was to supplement this with something stronger i.e. Morphine. Due to the fact that this would be a difficult extrication, I decided to contact E.O.C with a CASHICE and requested Search & Rescue as this was our only means of moving our patient from this position safely and comfortable. So while we were waiting we continued with treating our patient, and our pilot also used his emergency frequency to contact the Search & Rescue with a more accurate grid reference while on route to our location.
We continued with our treatment of the patient and were ready to give 10mg of Metocloparmide I.V, an anti sickness drug as our patient would be laying on her back, and 7.5mg of Morphine to make her more comfortable ready to move her from her current position. It was not long before we could hear the SARS aircraft approaching the scene and one of their paramedics was winched down to assist. As we watched him walk across to join us, he too ended up sinking in the marsh as he struggled to reach us. This convinced him that this was the only means of removing our patient, and he then instructed his winch man to lower their stretcher cradle to prepare the extraction process.
The patient was now feeling more comfortable and relaxed with the morphine taking effect, so at this point we decided to straighten her injured leg and apply a splint for support to allow a smooth transition across to the cradle. In doing so the knee popped back into its normal position, and this helped both the patient and ourselves allowing this process to take place. Between us it was decided that rather than winching the patient across to our helicopter it would be more practical to winch straight up into the SARS aircraft, and convey the patient direct to Southampton in their aircraft, so it was decided to make my colleague ready to be winched from his current position back across to the high ground next to our aircraft to save wadding back across the marsh to our aircraft. Once he was safe, they made me made ready to be winched up into the SARS aircraft separately, with the patient to follow.
As the Search & Rescue aircraft was hovering a hundred feet above, I was clear to be winched up. This process seemed to take forever as I was left dangling for what seemed a considerable length of time with my body spinning round a bit like being at the fair ground. Eventually I made it to the aircraft and was then pulled in to take up my seat inside, and it wasn’t long before my patient was pulled in and we were on our way to Lords Hill landing site. Arrangements had been made prior for an ambulance to meet us to transport the patient direct to Southampton Hospital.
Mike Gregory. Paramedic
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