Life-saving procedure for Canvey RTC patient
Teamwork was the key word for ambulance staff when they gave aid at a serious RTC in Canvey today (Friday) which seriously injured two men, and caused one to require a life-saving procedure which is very rare outside a hospital environment.
Two land crews from Canvey and Southend, a BASICS doctor, rapid response paramedic Glen Butcher and an incident support manager were called to the A130 Canvey Way at about 4.30am. Two cars had been in collision with one another which had caused one car to go down a nearby embankment.
Both male drivers were trapped and the fire service was called out to cut the vehicles for better access to the patients.
Paramedic Ian Burrell and emergency medical technician Jo Flayer attended the 37-year-old driver of the car which remained on the road.
Ian said: "He had suffered a serious head injury, broken right thigh, broken ribs and a collapsed lung. We administered drugs to stabilise the patient, and put him on a spinal board. Jo worked brilliantly which certainly made our work all the better.
"The patient's condition deteriorated while we were on the way to Southend Hospital. I was in the back of the ambulance with the patient, and I realised that I had to act quickly to save him. I carried out an advanced procedure called a needle chest decompression which inflates the lung again. If I hadn't done that, he would have died."
Meanwhile, paramedic Tracey Valentine and EMT Jo Campbell conveyed the second patient, a 28-year-old man from Canvey, to hospital.
Tracey said: "The collision had caused his legs to become trapped. The doctor administered strong pain relief while fire officers cut him free. He had suffered serious leg injuries and suspected pelvic injuries; also, his consciousness level was decreasing and we had to give him fluids to maintain his blood pressure.
"He was collared and boarded and taken to Basildon Hospital and we left him in a serious but stable condition."
Ian added: "It was fantastic team work - Glen did an excellent triage and assessment before our arrival a few minutes later. From our point of view it was a very speedy job and ran really smoothly, bearing in mind our patient was trapped and we were able to get him into the ambulance within about half an hour."
