Rhyl RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew launched to medical evacuation.
The captain of the merchant vessel "AASLI" had contacted Holyhead coastguard Co-ordinating centre to ask advice on a sick crew member. He was put in touch with a hospital doctor via a radio link.
The doctor recommended the crewman should be evacuated to a hospital for further investigations, and the pagers were activated for Rhyl's All-weather lifeboat crew. The vessel was at anchor some ten miles offshore, and the lifeboat was alongside nearly an hour later. The crewman was assisted on to the lifeboat and was cared for by two of the lifeboat's casualty care team. The crewman spoke very little English, and so hand signals and gestures were used to help overcome the language barrier. The man was given oxygen to assist his conditions and his condition continuously monitored. The lifeboat then returned at full speed back to Rhyl, and the man was taken to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd Hospital by ambulance.
Coxswain Martin Jones said " The lifeboat crew worked very well to relieve the man's condition, and their training in casualty care ensured a successful transfer to the ambulance."
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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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