Church Beck 3rd September 2016 19:17hrs 42/2016

The rain was heavy and darkness was approaching.

The team were contacted by CUMPOL to an incident in Church Beck where a female was experiencing epileptic fits. A full team call out was made and NWAS were contacted for their assistance.

The casualty was situated down in the ghyll on the bank side in a very difficult position. A safety line was setup to provide safe access and security for the team on site there.

The female was experiencing many seizures and when conscious was in a lot of pain. She was provided with Entonox for her pain and her airway was kept clear. A collar was used to secure her head and neck.

Ropes were set up for extraction and the stretcher was lowered to the scene with the vacuum mattress. She was placed as best in the vacuum mattress and strapped on to the stretcher.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue had also been called on for help as they have lighting and extra man power for raising the stretcher.

The casualty was raised slowly as she was constantly suffering fits so she had to be tipped to one side to clear her airway. Once fitting had stopped she was raised again. There were 2 barrow boys on the stretcher to enable this tipping.

The casualty once on the track was stretchered to one of our vehicles and taken up to the base to rendezvous with the paramedics from NWAS. The team followed close behind in case fitting resumed en route.

Once back at base the casualty was transferred in to the care of the paramedics with assistance from the team cas carers. 

Once stable the female was taken to Furness General Hospital in Barrow for further treatment.

In total 18 Coniston MRT members attended this difficult rescue with 5 members of Cumbria Fire and Rescue and 3 paramedics from NWAS. The rescue lasted almost 4 hours.