Busy weekend for RNLI lifeguards across Tyne and Wear

Starting in the late afternoon of Friday 11 June, RNLI Whitley Bay lifeguards attended a 63-year-old woman who had fallen off her bike and sustained a head injury. Senior Lifeguard Matthew Morley supported by lifeguard Finn Gamblin attended the casualty and undertook a series of medical checks. The team supplied the injured woman with over a cylinder of oxygen and stabilised her consciousness until an ambulance arrived.

As numbers of beachgoers continued to rise over the weekend, lifeguards across the Tyne and Wear area responded to numerous people swept out to sea on paddleboards.

First-aid incidents increased on Sunday 13 June, with RNLI Longsands lifeguards attending a casualty who sustained a head injury whilst playing rounders. At the same time, lifeguards Will Hogg and Harry Fitzgerald assisted a casualty who had dislocated their ankle. The team of two supplied the casualty with Entonox – an inhaled gas most commonly used for pain relief.

As the beach became increasingly crowded, RNLI Longsands enlisted the help of the UK Coastguard to contact the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade. Working together, the lifeguards successfully monitored the beach whilst attending to both casualties.

Further south, RNLI Roker lifeguards undertook first-aid procedures after a male casualty suffered from angina. A team of three – Alex Doolan, Chris Trotter, and Thomas Wright – provided the casualty with aspirin and remained with him until the ambulance arrived.

RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor Sean Mills applauded the medical actions undertaken by his team:

‘Our charity’s lifeguards played an essential part in helping all four casualties this weekend. If our casualties had not been at a lifeguarded beach, the team could not have helped them with their excellent first-aid skills.

‘As hot weather continues to sweep across the UK and beach visits are on a rise, make sure you choose a lifeguarded beach. Even if you do not plan to enter the water, the RNLI lifeguards will be there to help.’

Notes to editors

Longsands, Roker, and Whitley Bay Lifeguards have been operating since 2001. To learn more about the lifeboat station go to: https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeguarded-beaches

Lifeguard Supervisor Sean Mills is available for interview.

Photo Credit

RNLI/Kate Driver.

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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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