Multi-agency rescue of woman with back injury

At around 12:15pm, RNLI lifeguards on Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes were alerted by the leader of a coasteering team to a woman suffering a back injury at Trevellas Porth, around 200m east of Trevaunance. It was reported that she had sustained the injury after jumping around two metres from rocks into the sea.

RNLI lifeguard Curtis Johnston immediately paddled round on a rescue board. The woman had been recovered safely onto the beach by the coasteering team but was clearly in a lot of pain. Curtis administered casualty care and, due to the inaccessibility of her location, radioed to senior RNLI lifeguard Phil Smith for assistance.

Phil then contacted Falmouth Coastguard who requested the launch of the St Agnes RNLI inshore lifeboat Xkalibur and tasked the St Agnes HM Coastguard Cliff Rescue team. The volunteer lifeboat crew launched at 12:35pm and was on scene at 12:37pm with the crew of Helm Tom Kaye, Paul Kimberley, Dr Ed Schwarz and Paul Fisher.

Curtis remained on the beach monitoring the casualty until the lifeboat crew arrived. The teams then worked together to administer pain relief, before transferring her onto a long board stretcher and into the lifeboat.

The lifeboat crew then transported the casualty back to the lifeboat station and was assisted by members of the St Agnes HM Coastguard cliff rescue team in monitoring her until the ambulance arrived.

The lifeboat was then rehoused and made ready for service at 13:25pm.

Drustan Ward, RNLI lifeguard supervisor for the area, said:

‘The RNLI lifeguards here at St Agnes work frequently with the volunteer lifeboat crew during incidents such as these and it’s great to work as a team together to ensure the best possible outcome for the casualty.

The lady was with a fully qualified instructor but this was an unfortunate accident. The instructor did the right thing in contacting lifeguards as soon as the incident occurred and we wish her a speedy recovery.’

Whilst the ambulance was dealing with the first casualty, RNLI lifeguards on the beach were alerted to 10 year old boy with long-standing health conditions needing medical assistance.

Due to the presence of the ambulance on the beach already, one paramedic and RNLI crew member Paul Kimberley, also a paramedic, assisted the lifeguards in administering casualty care.

The team administered casualty care to the child. Having been assessed by the paramedic, it was decided the child needed no further treatment.

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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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