Lee Baker - Cave Rescuer

Accidents and emergencies are a fact of life, so thank goodness we have plenty of professionals on hand to respond to them! Suzanne Marshall talks to five people who work in different emergency services.

A) Joanne Ripley - Accident and Emergency Doctor b) Mike Stewart - Lifeguard

I've never been one for routine, which is just as well because you just never know what you will have to face on a shift in Accident and Emergency! One moment things might be relatively calm, like this morning when I was able to spend time joking with a little boy while I put a cast on his broken arm, the next it can all go wrong as casualties are rushed in with life-threatening injuries after some kind of major incident. That kind of situation can be pretty stressful, that's for sure! But you just have to keep your mind on the job. You can't forget for one moment that you're holding people's lives in your hands.

Most people think that lifeguards are all young, healthy, powerful swimmers, but that is not true. I had retired, but I have always been a fit and active person so when I saw that the RNU were advertising for people to provide extra cover during the summer I jumped at the chance.

Basically, I have to patrol the beaches and make sure that people observe the warning signs and stay away from danger zones. Of course, we monitor all the people who are bathing or surfing and carry out the rescue of anyone we see in trouble. Fortunately, the beaches here are quite safe and I have not been involved in any serious incidents.

Ann Hadley - Emergency Switchboard Operator

I have worked on several switchboards before, but this job is by far the most demanding I've ever had. Callers are very often distressed, as you can imagine, but I have to keep them calm enough to give me all the information I need as precisely and quickly as possible. Then I put them through to the appropriate emergency service. You'd be surprised at how often people call 999 when the situation isn't really an emergency! When this happens I just switch on a recorded message from the local police.

Lee Baker - Cave Rescuer

I had been a member of a caving club for many years, so when our club president asked if any of us would like to volunteer on a cave rescue team I thought: 'Why not?' Well, I thought there would be nothing to it, but it turned out to be quite a challenge! I've realised that cave rescues are tricky operations that require a high level of organised teamwork and really good communication.

You wouldn't think experienced cavers would get into trouble in caves, but they do! Just last week we were called out to rescue two cavers who had become trapped and injured when some rocks fell on them. They had mainly cuts and bruises but one of them also had a broken ankle. We rescued them and then transferred them on a stretcher to a waiting helicopter.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-26