Volunteer crew members from North Berwick RNLI were on call during the Easter break responding to a number of incidents, including medical emergencies.
Crew members assisted members of the public in medical distress, including broken bones and a young casualty with breathing difficulties. Our volunteers also responded to their pagers for two further incidents, however they were stood down prior to launch.
RNLI crew members are trained in casualty care, a form of first aid which was originated by former Clinical Operations Manager for the RNLI, Paul Savage OBE. It focuses on effective hands-on treatment rather than complex theory and provides volunteers with the skills to treat casualties with confidence, by following a logical step by step process.
Callum MacLeod, training coordinator at North Berwick Lifeboat said ‘The RNLI’s casualty care training helps crew members make decisions on diagnosis and treatment by referring to check cards, allowing them to administer a number of drugs to treat a wide range of medical emergencies.’
‘This streamlined process is incredibly important as a crew member without a medical background may have been pulled from their bed at 3am and 15 minutes later find themselves standing over a casualty in rough seas on a moving platform, making life saving decisions.’
The training that RNLI volunteers receive is funded by charitable donations. It costs an average of £1,400 to train a volunteer crew member to carry out their role on the lifeboat. From nautical navigation to effective search patterns, emergency mechanical repairs on the lifeboat to casualty care, our crews are trained to a high standard.
It's our belief that even one life lost at sea is too many. Our volunteers don't launch into cold, rough seas to save just a few. They're on a mission to save every one.
The RNLI are asking supporters to take on the MayDay Mile; a challenge of covering a mile a day for the month of May. All money raised will help to provide the vital training and equipment that is needed to keep RNLI lifesavers safe, while they risk their own lives to save others.
Whether you choose to walk, jog, hop or skip, the Mayday Mile challenges participants to cover one mile in any way they like every day in May, with sponsorship raising vital funds for RNLI lifesavers so that they can continue saving lives at sea. Sign up at
RNLI.org/SupportMayday
Notes to editors
· Lifeboat crews and lifeguards around the UK and RoI saved a total of 506 lives in 2022, with lifeboats launching 9,312 times – an increase of 5% on the previous year.
· In 2021, RNLI lifeboats launched 8,868 times and RNLI lifeboat crews and lifeguards saved a total of 408 lives
· North Berwick RNLI launched 15 times in 2022, down from 26 in 2021
· The average cost for training a crew member in 2021 was £1400
https://rnli.org/about-us/how-the-rnli-is-run/running-costs
RNLI media contacts
Matthew Gibbons, Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer, North Berwick,
[email protected]
Natasha Bennett, RNLI Regional Media Officer for Scotland, 07826 900639,
[email protected]
Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Media Manager for Scotland, 07920 365929,
[email protected]
24 hour RNLI Central Press Office, 01202 336789 or email
[email protected]
Key facts about the RNLI
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.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.