HART at Olympic facility

Crews from South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) were given a choppy introduction on how to rescue and treat casualties at inland water incidents during exercises at a 2012 Olympic facility.

Specialist medics from SECAmb’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) units, based in Ashford and Gatwick, underwent training at Lee Valley White Water Centre, Hertfordshire, a purpose-built facility hosting Olympic slalom canoeing and kayaking events this summer.

Teams were taught how negotiate fast water to reach a casualty, bank based rescues, search techniques and self-rescue in strong currents. The three-day course from March 7-9 followed two days’ training in West Sussex on the River Adur learning safe river crossings, working in boats and multi-agency rescues.

SECAmb’s HART Training Manager, Simon Morton, said: “The exercises were designed to enable our crews to operate safely in and around swift water.

“They learn defensive and offensive swimming techniques so they can use the current, locate and treat patients, then convey them to safety, teaming up with other emergency services.” HART

The Swift Water Rescue Technician course, taught by West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service instructors, exceeds the government’s national HART standards set by Defra. It gives medics practical skills in dealing with isolated inland water incidents as well as at scenes of flooding, where operations are often multi-agency and rescues are technically challenging.

HART teams are equipped to deal with a wide range of other incidents from chemical leaks, urban search and rescue incidents, safe working at height and multi-vehicle road traffic collisions.

Clinicians receive intensive training including the use of breathing apparatus and limited life gas-tight chemical suits to facilitate entry into hazardous areas, providing treatment to patients earlier, thus improving clinical outcome. In addition to urban search and rescue, how to operate safely at height and around water, HART are working towards forming the ambulance service’s maritime incident response team (AMIRT).

Specialist vehicles include off road 4x4 and urban search and rescue vehicles as well as a state-of-the-art command vehicle.

When not responding to HART calls, teams will provide operational support to the Trust’s 999 fleet with two Single Response Vehicles and a frontline ambulance.

In February SECAmb received planning approval for a second HART base in Gatwick to provide facilities for 42 specially trained staff, along with vehicles and equipment designed to respond to incidents where casualties are in hazardous environments.

The Trust is currently recruiting a paramedic to join its HART team at Ashford. Register at http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/ and then look up reference: 278-HART-ASH-PAR-0711-HR. Closing date 22 March 2012.