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May 23, 2005
Speedboat accident rehearsed by first aiders in Burnham-On-Sea

A team of first-aiders from St John's Ambulance rehearsed how they would react to a speedboat accident at Apex Leisure Park in Burnham on Monday evening, May 23.

Four crew members from Burnham's hovercraft group became the 'casualties' during the hour-long exercise at the slipway.

The crew used make-up to create realistic looking wounds and acted out a number of 'injuries' which the medical response team had to deal with.

The team of eight first-aiders was led by Keith Gough, St John's Ambulance Divisional Manager for the Highbridge and Burnham region, who arrived on the scene in an ambulance.

Keith said: "There were a number of 'injuries' to an arm, hand, chest, head and lungs which we had to be deal with in a very quick amount of time."

"This was a very useful exercise for us, simulating how we would deal with a real emergency situation involving a boat. It was particularly useful to perform it in an outside environment next to the water's edge where such incidents occur."

The exercise involved the D-class lifeboat from BARB, the group that runs the Burnham rescue hovercraft.

A spokesman for BARB said: "It was a successful evening for everyone. Our crew members found it useful; they got a close-up view of how first-aid treatment would be given to casualties in a real emergency situation."

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RELATED LINKS:

Highbridge and Burnham St John Amulance

Official Burnham-On-Sea Hovercraft Web site