My Final Thoughts and Farewell; Well, Kind of...
In the last six years I have covered a lot of miles; physically and mentally. In 2011, I left the UK Fire and Rescue Service with a passion for vehicle extrication and have subsequently spent more than half a decade following that path. A path that took me all over the globe expanding my own understanding and knowledge and, hopefully, having the same effect on those I met.
Speaking at one of Holmatro's Rescue Experience events in Australia.
Dream job
On the face of it, being paid to travel the world and practice your passion is something that most people can only ever dream of. Having a job where you can literally spend all of your time thinking about technical and medical rescue, exploring new concepts and ideas and using this information to assist with the development of the next generation of tools, that people will use for the next decade or more, is insane. But that is what I have been doing and I feel very lucky.
Testing Holmatro's Compact Lightweight Spreader: a well-balanced tool...
Progression
So what has the last six years taught me about the world of technical and medical rescue?
Well firstly, it is in a really good place. There has never been a time (in my career) where information is so readily available, equipment is so innovative and user friendly; designed for the rescuer. There have never been so many experts on hand to instantly answer questions on many social media forums. Vehicles now protect their occupants better than never before and although their construction is far stronger, they can easily be overcome with the latest tools and techniques.
The gap between the technical and medical aspects of rescue has become a lot smaller; something I have always aspired to see. Many rescuers I have met all over the world have a greater understanding of basic trauma care and have the skills that will (along with their technical ability) ultimately save people’s lives.
Teaching the medical aspects of rescue to technical rescuers improves their ability to save lives.
Challenges left
So we do not have a problem then; it’s all good, right?
Well unfortunately, it’s not all positives. As I have stated previously, there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation in relation to rescue. This is often intended for commercial gain but can severely affect your operational capabilities. In essence all claims need to be checked and double checked.
Ultimately though, the weakest link in the chain of rescue has (and always will be) the rescuer themselves and I certainly include myself in that statement. Sometimes we underperform due to lack of knowledge, understanding, good old pre-planning, training and practice. Sometimes we are simply tired.
At other times we have may have problems with our equipment which (in my experience) can be, more often than not, traced back to human error in use and/or maintenance leading to a failure or damage.
The importance of training
The human element in rescue is by far the most important. The key ‘take away’ message for me from the last six years in this role is simply to understand:
The importance of knowledge and application acquired through high-quality, measureable initial and ongoing training, delivered by subject matter experts.
My 'take away' message: ongoing, good quality training is an absolute must for each rescuer.
The training MUST be safe and realistic, and create (as near as possible) the environment that rescuers face when called to deal with life-critical incidents. It must include multiple agencies and its contents must be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure relevance. Critically thought YOU must engage with it!
There simply is no excuse for not training. Every patient you meet on the road (or any other rescue situation) deserves the best of your skills, knowledge and application. Arriving on scene ill-prepared is morally (and in most countries) legally unacceptable for your organization.
Conclusion
So after 6 years, half a million air miles and more than 100 countries visited, my conclusion is that we need to train hard to be better at what we do. Not a surprising conclusion, but an important one all the same.
I am now off to face a new challenge and although I am leaving Holmatro, I will continue to blog here on a regular basis. For you to decide if that is a good or a bad thing ;-)
Off to a new challenge: hope to see you around some time!
As ever I welcome your comments.
Ian Dunbar