Club member Alan Heeney was involved in a rescue in Kilkee on Monday last. Alan was down for a weeks diving with the army. He received a call from the Kilkee Rescue Centre for medical assistance as they knew Alan was a medical technician. Alan went with the Kilkee Rescue Team to Georges Head, on the behest of the Coastgaurd who raised the alarm. Luckily Alan had his own trauma bag with him as he was the team medic for the army diving group.
The patient was found approximately 600yards from the car park in Georges Head. The patient was suffering from hyperthermia and was in shock. The patient had suspected spinal injuries. Alan treated all the apparent life threatening injuries and the not so apparent dangers like the potential spinal injuries. The coastgaurd arrived by helicopter and winched the patient by strecher from the scene direct to hospital with Alan's assistance.
Many congratulations to Alan on a job well done, if there is a lesson to be learnt here is that we should all keep our Diver Medic skills up todate and that having Emergency Medical Equipment at hand and in proper order is critical for a successful rescue outcome.
Alan was interviewed by Midlands Radio 3 and he stressed that the good medical training he received from the Athlone SAC and the Army were the primary reasons for the successful outcome.
