Whitstable RNLI launched to Suspected Stroke Victim
he Whitstable Atlantic 85 Lifeboat (Reserve fleet lifeboat Susan Margaret Forsbrey) was launched at 8.14 on Friday morning following a report of a 30ft motorboat from which the single occupant, a 61-year old male had reported that he was suffering the symptoms of a suspected stroke.
The lifeboat proceeded to the casualty and located the vessel in the given position.
A crewmember was placed onboard the craft and made an assessment of the casualty and quickly confirmed the symptoms of an apparent stroke.
The casualty was transferred to the lifeboat which then proceeded, with the crew maintaining casualty care observations to the inner ramp within the Neptune Arm at Herne Bay.
The casualty was placed in a stretcher and transferred ashore to await an ambulance which arrived shortly afterwards and he was placed in their care and was subsequently taken to Kent & Canterbury Hospital for further assessment and treatment.
The lifeboat then returned to the anchored motorboat to make certain it was securely anchored before returning to station.
Whitstable lifeboat Casualty Care Coordinator Dr Terry Stefani said “The whole operation went as clockwork, an excellent immediate and accurate assessment was made treatment initiated and a rapid evacuation achieved”.
“As time is the essential in the immediate management of strokes this successful rescue was very definitely under the category of “a life saved” and was down to the excellent training and performance of the lifeboat crew”.
This was the 42nd call of the year for Whitstable's volunteer lifeboat crews and weather conditions at the time of the incident were force 3-4 winds, fair visibility and a slight sea.
Notes to editors
Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.
The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.
She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.
RNLI media contacts
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Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
07741 012004/ [email protected] -
Paul Dunt RNLI Press Officer London/southeast/east Tel: 0207 6207416 Mob: (07785) 296252 [email protected]
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For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789
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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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