Medivac of casualty with suspected spinal injury

A passenger on a 6metre RIB injured himself when the boat unexpectedly hit a wave as they were leaving Dart Harbour. The Dart inshore lifeboat, with three casualty Care trained crew onboard, met the boat between the castles at the harbour entrance. The RIB was escorted back to Darthaven marina as he was in acute pain. As the South West Ambulance Service was initially unable to give any expected time of arrival for an emergency ambulance the decision was made to go to the double steps on the Dartmouth side of the river where the casualty could be brought ashore with the help of the lifeboat crew and the Dartmouth Coastguard SAR team under the leadership of Station Officer Ian Pollard. The casualty was given Oxygen and carefully placed on the lifeboat's basket stretcher and brought ashore. As still no time could be given by Ambulance Control for the attendance of an Ambulance he was taken onboard the lifeboat on the stretcher and brought ashore in the lifeboat at the public landing slip by the Higher Ferry. He could then have been taken in the lifeboat across Coronation Park to the lifeboat station for further assessment and care. Fortunately an Ambulance came across on the ferry and was flagged down. The lifeboat and Coastguard teams worked together to place him on the Ambulance stretcher for onward transfer to Torbay Hospital.