It has been a busy time for the Mountain Rescue Teams in County Wicklow.
The Teams were called to incidents in Mullinacor, Lough Dan, Ballycumber and Knockananna
On Saturday the Glen of Imaal Irish Red Cross Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and the Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team were tasked by An Garda Síochána to assist a male who was lost and suffering from heat exhaustion. The man had been walking from Glendalough to Glenmalure, when he got into difficulty. He had no water with him and was advised to remain in the shade if possible until help arrived. Sarloc technology was used to find the walker. As he was on a forest road, a Mountain Rescue vehicle was dispatched to the location. Once on scene, Mountain Rescue personnel medically assessed the male, gave him some water and transported him back to his vehicle in Glendalough.
The incident was stood down at 17:47.
On Monday the teams were tasked by An Garda Síochána to assist a male with a knee injury at Ballycumber. The casualty and three other people had been walking along the Wicklow Way, but decided to divert from the track. The casualty fell and dislocated his knee. Once on scene, Mountain Rescue personnel medically assessed and treated the male, then packaged and stretchered him to an awaiting MR vehicle.
The incident was stood down at 18:00.
While one of our MR response vehicles was driving through the village of Knockananna enroute to Ballycumber, the driver was flagged down by a distressed mother whose son was having a seizure and needed medical intervention.
The team immediately redeployed an MR EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) from the callout at Ballycumber to the location, and began treatment. More MR ALS (Advanced Life Support) personnel arrived within minutes, again redeployed from the first callout that was still ongoing.
Aeromedical helicopter 112 was requested, which landed in the nearby GAA pitch. Following an assessment, the casualty and his mother were lifted and transferred directly to hospital by air. Once the helicopter lifted, the remaining MR personnel were deployed back to the callout at Ballycumber to assist with the male with the dislocated knee.
Both GOIMRT and DWMRT train together for all eventualities and with some rapid decision making and redeployment of the correct resources, we were able to successfully manage two incidents, with limited personnel in a remote part of Wicklow.
