Police Rescue, paramedics and rescue helicopter join forces to train together

Richmond Police District’s crack Police Rescue squad held a joint training exercise with NSW ambulance and Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service at Lismore where they practised cliff rescues.

INTER AGENCY TRAINING: Members of the Richmond Police District Police Rescue squad and the Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service held a joint agency training session to share cliff rescue and retrieval medicine techniques at the Westpac Rescue Helicopter base in Lismore on May 1, 2021. Photo: Alison Paterson

Crouching under the wash of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, Lismore’s Police Rescue squad is working with Ambulance NSW paramedics to stabilise a patient who has suffered severe injuries after falling over a cliff.

The emergency services personnel are buffeted by the seven tonne helicopter’s down draft which is the equivalent of being exposed to a Category 1 cyclone.

Despite the urgency of the incident, everyone is calmly working together as they stabilise the patient ahead of winching them along with the critical care paramedic, 15m to safety.

As the helicopter winches the patient and paramedic aboard, there’s smiles round – another complicated rescue complete.

An inter-agency exercise between Police Rescue and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter crews was held at Lismore on June 1, 2021. Photo: Alison Paterson

This may be an inter-agency training exercise at Lismore’s Westpac Rescue Helicopter base, but according to everyone involved, it’s as real as they can make it.

Held on Tuesday, the training featured Rescue Squad members Peter Ellis, John Stirling, Brett Green, Louis Papworth, Kyle Thompson and Michael Stephenson harnessing, then lowering medical personnel over a low cliff to reach a casualty.

The training, however, was a two-way street with helicopter crews demonstrating how to safely work under a hovering helicopter.

An inter-agency exercise between Police Rescue and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter crews was held at Lismore on June 1, 2021. Photo: Alison Paterson

NSW Ambulance Critical Care Paramedic Mathew Dugard, said the training session was a great success.

He said the NSW Ambulance staff who were present included Critical Care Paramedics Aaron Davidson, Rolan Murcott, and Stuart Gourlay.

“We try to make this training as real possible,” he said.

“It’s a great opportunity to do cliff rescue familiarisation for the doctors, as Police Rescue and Critical Care Paramedics are highly trained in remote area and cliff top rescue, but we need to familiarise the doctors in how to perform these operations safely.”

Mr Dugard said each agency has its strengths and the closer they worked together the greater the chance for success when looking after the community.

Police Rescue gave new paramedics and doctors assigned to Westpac Rescue Helicopter a training session to familiarise them on the techniques to be safely lowered during incidents when other agencies are involved. Photo: Alison Paterson

”Every retrieval flight carries one doctor and one critical care paramedic,” Mr Dugard said.

“Our senior medical consultants, include three full-time registers doing their post graduate studies in retrial medicine.”

Mr Dugard said it was vital for doctors to understand how Police Rescue or other agencies, such as the State Emergency Service, would perform under pressure.

“As Critical Care Paramedics, our job to is access the patient and start the emergency medical treatment,” Mr Dugan said.

“If we can’t get winched in or out by the aircraft, it’s up to Police Rescue or the SES to get us in or out as quickly as they can.”

An inter-agency exercise between Police Rescue and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter crews was held at Lismore on June 1, 2021. Photo: Alison Paterson

Mr Dugard said NSW Ambulance had previously undertaken a mock water rescue with Police NSW Marine Command and Surf Lifesaving personnel.

“This is the first of many we hope to do with Police Rescue,” he said.

The medical personnel who participated included Gabby Blanche, Martin Watson, Chris Baker, Simon Jones and Alex Pullen.

All said they felt the training was invaluable.

A critical car paramedic is winched up with a stretcher in the aircraft at an inter-agency exercise between Police Rescue and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter crews was held at Lismore on June 1, 2021. Photo: Alison Paterson

Police Rescue Squad, Team Leader Sergeant Amanda Vidler, said the inter-agency training day was an excellent chance to share knowledge and ensure that paramedics and other medical staff feel comfortable when her team need to lower or haul them up a cliff.

“It’s great to be running through some scenarios with new doctors and paramedics on our equipment and cliff rescue procedures,” she said.

“We love inter-agency training, at the end of the day it is important to know who we are working with because we are all doing the same job of saving lives.”

Police Rescue set-up their equipment ahead of lowering medical personnel in a harness over a short height to familiarise them with cliff rescue techniques at a joint operational exercise with NSW Ambulance and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter crews at Lismore on June 1, 2021. Photo: Alison Paterson