Busy week for RAF and Navy Search and Rescue teams

Civilian and military Search and Rescue Sea King helicopters have been called out 85 times so far this year, a substantial increase from the same period last year when there were 50 call-outs.

The recent winter weather has seen an increase in the number of medical transfers carried out by Search and Rescue helicopters as ambulances struggle to reach casualties through the snow and ice affecting roads.

The duty crew of HMS Gannet, the Royal Navy's helicopter search and rescue unit, based in South West Scotland, have responded to a number of incidents involving sledging accidents this week.

One involved an 18-year-old sledger at Chatelherault Country Park, near Hamilton.

The crew was tasked at 1530hrs and 25 minutes later picked up the casualty, a paramedic who was already on the scene and a carer, transferring the injured man to Glasgow's Southern General Hospital.
 
HMS Gannet's duty crew were Major Mike Devereux (pilot), Lieutenant George 'Logie' Baird (pilot), Lieutenant Commander David Reese (observer) and Corporal Rob Seall (aircrewman).

Lieutenant Commander Reese said:

"This was the sixth serious sledging incident that crews from HMS Gannet have attended this year. Sledging slopes are difficult for ambulance crews to get to, so helicopter assistance is often the easiest, safest and quickest means of getting the casualty to hospital."

Meanwhile, at the other end of the country, the RAF Search and Rescue team based at Royal Marines Base Chivenor, in Devon, have also been out and about.

One of their tasks this week was to transport a mother and her baby who had been born an hour earlier to a doctor at the North Devon District Hospital.

The mother gave birth at her home, situated on a steep and slippery hill in North Devon, which had been made impassable by the heavy snow.

The evacuation was a precaution only, but the crew, with Flight Lieutenant Steve Whalley at the controls and co-pilot Flight Lieutenant Dom Sanderson navigating, then received an emergency call to attend to a girl with head and spinal injuries fading in and out of consciousness.

The 15-year-old casualty had crashed her toboggan and, on landing, the RAF crew strapped her into a stretcher and then flew her also to North Devon District Hospital.

The RAF Search and Rescue (SAR) Force Chief of Staff, Wing Commander Pete Lloyd, said:

"This has been a demanding period with the winter weather affecting all parts of the UK at the same time.

"We have completed almost double the number of SAR operations compared with the same time last year but the recent break in snowfall has allowed our deployed assets to recover to home stations as we wait to see what the weather will throw our way."

With the current weather conditions expected to last another few weeks, the Search and Rescue Force will continue to respond when requested to those in need.