[Closed] Helicopter at Glentress on Sunday

Crashed badly off a jump according to my friend who learned that its wise to stand back from a landing helicopter. No info on if hes okay or not.

I wonder what the FCS charge for a helicopter landing permit ??

That sucks, I hope they're OK. I saw the helicopter but as it looked like a search and rescue one rather than an air ambulance I'd hoped it didn't mean that someone had been badly injured.

looked like a search and rescue one rather than an air ambulance

MRT will take assistance from whichever is available ChrisL.

domino, your friend's now witnessed the effects of sufficient downdraft to keep a "7 ton jelly" in the air. I worked with Seakings on a couple of occasions whilst an MRT member, some years ago now. Anything that's not held down WILL get blown away. Seen a massive rucksac hurled further than you'd believe by this.

I once saw a Chinook landing in a car park as part of a display - dozens of nearby cars were literally pebble-dashed.

I've been too close when the air ambulance landed in the field next to the lower/overflow car park at GT years ago - my mate landed on his head on a jump (in the skills area of all places...). I'm just thankful my car wasn't at that side of the carpark when all the gravel was blown up...

Hope this rider's OK. My mate's crash freaked me out at the time.

Rubberneck

I was there with a group when it happened, didn't see it myself, but one of our party called the ambulance which arrived within 10mins. The guy came off badly from the raised tabletop in the jump park right beside the Buzzards Nest carpark.

He got up right away in shock then went down. Luckily a fireman was there to comfort him, we noticed his helmet was cracked and a large tear in his jacket down the length of his spine, he couldn't move his shoulder and I don't think he could move much altogether. One of our party stayed with him till the ambulance arrived, who kept him wrapped up. We made our way down to the carpark and about 30mins later the helicopter arrived.

I hope the guy is okay, I know his wife and kids were there. The annoying thing is, myself and the majority of us there didn't know proper first aid, I made the error of offering the guy ibuprofen and luckily the operator on the phone told us not to administer anything including water.

"I made the error of offering the guy ibuprofen and luckily the operator on the phone told us not to administer anything including water."

To be fair thats a bit stupid. Ibuprofen takes more than a few mintues to take effect, and do you really think it would make any difference to some one who is seriously injured ?!?!

You obviously did the important thing of First Aid though which is to call 999 and get some one there that knows what they're doing.

I saw the ambulance and helipocter too, always a worry.

To be fair thats a bit stupid. Ibuprofen takes more than a few mintues to take effect, and do you really think it would make any difference to some one who is seriously injured ?!?!

To be fair, that's a bit insensitive. They've said they had very little first aid knowledge and that they made a mistake. Is there any point in calling their actions a bit stupid?

Funky,

I know now that it was "a bit stupid", but as stated, I and others there have no first aid training. At that moment we didn't think the guy was seriously injured as he was talking away, was on one knee leaning against the fence and was complaining of a sore shoulder....the thought process (of an unqualified first aider) was pain relief to a suspected broken collar bone, hence a few of us rummaging about in our packs for pills. Only then as time went on his condition deteriorated.

A lesson learned from this was the fact that our group/club members and I suspect a large majority of riders out there should be completing some form of sport specific first aid training. Believe it or not, I was actually telling this story to an HSE first aid trainer this morning who I work with. I've been enquiring about a course he could put together and deliver to our group.

To be fair thats a bit stupid. Ibuprofen takes more than a few mintues to take effect, and do you really think it would make any difference to some one who is seriously injured ?!?!

To be fair, that's a bit insensitive. They've said they had very little first aid knowledge and that they made a mistake. Is there any point in calling their actions a bit stupid?

My thoughts too when I read it. If it's an accident that you can walk away from it can make it a lot easier to get away to the car. Obviously in this case it won't be wise but in those situations unless you are trained it's difficult to know what to do.

When it happened to my mate all I could do was ask if he was alright, not much use when someone has knocked themself out. When he was talking and seemed to be breathing ok I then had the clarity to work out what to do next and whether I could steal his bike or not 😈 (he is a regular on here and we've both made the joke since that I could have been away with it so not completely insensitive!)

[i]To be fair thats a bit stupid. Ibuprofen takes more than a few mintues to take effect, and do you really think it would make any difference to some one who is seriously injured[/i]

When I was admitted to Worthing A&E after falling off on a jump I was given Ibruprofen by the doctor that examined me before he did anythign else - 'policy'.

He proceeded to prove there was nothing wrong with my leg that was hurting by bendign it in all directions and finally pushing my knee into my chest by putting his weight on it.

As I was insisting it was 'smarting a bit' he agreed to get an x-ray done 'to rule out cracked pelvis'.

Once the x-rays were done he came back a bit sheepish and offered me some morphine "Errrm, it seems you've got a broken hip".

So, in summary offering inadequate pain relief isn't always done by the rank amateur.

Ok so perhaps I didnt need to reiterate what was a stupid decision. However I am not first aid trained either, but know from having accidents myself in the past that you either MTFU and get on with it, or your seriously injured (which you concluded correctly) and Ibuprofen will make no difference to pain levels.

I guess if nothing else a First Aid course would help you feel more in control until professional help arrives. All you can do with some one who is seriously injured is make them as comfortable as possible without making the injuries worse.

Moral of the story, mountain biking is dangerous, and more of us should get some first aid training. There are loads of courses about, and even a normal course will help, although there are some advantages to the outdoor specific one. You might even be able to get your employer to pay for it.

Hope the bloke comes out ok.

Apparently there is a first aid room at GT. Anyone know where it is? It's not manned. I assessed a guy a few weeks ago at GT who came off attempting a jump. The bike store guys were quite helpful.

It's not rare that trail centre first aid is a little bit.. erm.. lacking. The visitors centre at Cwmcarn initially refused to call an ambulance for someone who got hurt when I was there last time. Their first advice was take him to hospital yourself at which point we told them we had no clue where we were nor how to get anywhere. As the guy went more than a little grey, they finally agreed he needed help and called.

When i set myself on fire i was told to take 400mg of ibuprofen ASAP .
So its not so silly is it

@ atlaz - taking someone to A&E yourself is often the quickest way to get them there. It also avoids taking up the ambulances time. By far the best thing to do with walking wounded

Great. NHS Scotland post code search for hospitals doesn't appear to be working. Where is the nearest A&E to Glentress?

Borders General in Galashiels. TD6 9BS

Borders General.
http://www.nhsborders.org.uk/health-services/services/borders-general-hospital7

Ednburgh royal is not far away either really in the great scheme of things and as I live in Edinburgh I'd rather go there.

http://www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/GoingToHospital/Locations/RIE/Pages/default.aspx

Obviously you only take them yourself if you are confident about the level of injury but IMO calling ambulances for walking wounded is wrong.

Thanks.

31 min from GT to Borders General. Worth knowing.

i certainly hope that ibuprofen is not compulsory in scotland as it would literally kill me.. so please dont think that just because you take a drug thats its okay for everyone else..

You should,t treat a trauma with ibuprofen!

You should administer polo mints !!!!

When I broke my hip, I stayed off painkillers etc. Got to A&E, got triaged, they said "Have you taken any painkillers", I said no, they said "Why on earth not?"

So, there's obviously room for confusion and no need to be a dick to people about it.

I have some super duper super strong painkillers I my first aid kit. If I have it with me and I break a bone I am having a couple of them.

Meh, could be worse. I once saw a guy that was adamant that a chicken sandwich was the best thing to fix his girlfriend. Les Gendarm's were only certain that he needed an ass-whoopin!

Well I had a bad crash and an ambulance trip and stay in hospital, and thankfully I wasn't offered/given Ibuprofen, wouldn't have been a good idea with my stomach. Turned down morphine, but the dihydrocodeine rocked though 😈

I hope the person is OK

it's worth getting the st johns app if you have a suitable phone

I don't know any first aid but that app might be useful one day
asks you for symptoms and gives basic advice

Borders General in Galashiels. TD6 9BS

I know it well... 😳

Apparently there is a first aid room at GT. Anyone know where it is? It's not manned. I assessed a guy a few weeks ago at GT who came off attempting a jump. The bike store guys were quite helpful.

IIRC its in the same building that the cafe is in, its one of the doors before the entrance to the cafe

When I broke my hip, I stayed off painkillers etc. Got to A&E, got triaged, they said "Have you taken any painkillers", I said no, they said "Why on earth not?"

So, there's obviously room for confusion and no need to be a dick to people about it.

Indeed, I've had both after accidents - i.e. one doc saying "good, take these instead" and the other said "why not?!". I take a couple of codydramol with me in case my lower back gives way like it does at times, or in case of proper injury, but I wouldn't be offering it to anyone else (first rule of every first aid course I have done). That said, if someone asked for it and I thought they were of sound mind I'd give them anti-inflams to take.

What is the St Johns app...I can't see anything obvious on the Android market?

This may be useful: http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/british-red-cross-app-free-first-aid-info

You should,t treat a trauma with ibuprofen!

You should administer polo mints !!!!

[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/simons-crash-today-llandegla ]Or MrsCoop's ample bosom, apparently! :lol:[/url]

Chest is, indeed, best.

Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow

"I don't know any first aid but that app might be useful one day
asks you for symptoms and gives basic advice"

Isn't that a bit pointless? Surely if you have a signal to get 3G you can dial 999 and speak to a human who will give much better advice than an app, or does it download all the data to the mobile so it doesn't need 3G?

if it's an app then the data shoudl all be on the phone?

correct it's all offline information
you could achieve the same by carrying a basic first aid book

iPhone app:
[url= http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/st-john-ambulance-first-aid/id347574230?mt=8 ]First aid app[/url]

looks like not available for android but this is:
[url= https://market.android.com/details?id=com.cube.rca&hl=en ]red cross app[/url]

I'd still be dialing 999 and getting real advice for some one seriously injured, or handing out a dose of MTFU 🙂

first aid guidance helps you decide when to call 999 (if there is a signal) and when to MTFU

i'm off to add add a yellow hi-viz health and safety (elfinsafety?) vest to my biking pack now 😀

I'm slightly surprised that if someone was walking around and at the skills circuit (which I assume means right next to Buzzards Nest Car park?) that it needed a helo; I'd certainly have expected to be bundled in the back of an ambulance if it were me. Of course there may be details we don't know which meant the crew on the ground or the operator on the phone believed this was sufficiently serious. If it genuinely needed a helo then ibuprofen wasn't going to do much and could only make matters worse - but sometimes after a crash a rest and the strongest over the counter pain killers are all you actually need to be able to limp back to the car and get yourself to hospital so I don't think it was the stupidest thing I've heard.

Borders General in Galashiels. TD6 9BS

However I am not first aid trained either...All you can do with some one who is seriously injured is make them as comfortable as possible

poly - Member

I'm slightly surprised that if someone was walking around and at the skills circuit (which I assume means right next to Buzzards Nest Car park?) that it needed a helo; I'd certainly have expected to be bundled in the back of an ambulance if it were me.

Maybe a case of whirlybird was in the area with nothing better to do? We had that once on a motorbike group ride, our rider had a broken collarbone but a flying taxi came and got her.

(I don't know what happens if a more urgent case comes up... parachute maybe)

I thinbk a fair amount of the time they do "live exercises" No recent callouts they will attend one that does not really merit it to get the hours in and use them as a live exercise - no evidence for this other than hearing of trivial injuries / easy road evacuation done by air

MrsToast I want my money back.

Like Yoda said "Decide you must. How to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could, but you would destroy all for what's they have fight and suffered."