Two BASICS doctors at A27 crash

A 40-year-old woman was killed in a car crash on the A27 on Tuesday 15th December.

Dr Rowley Cottingham, a local Consultant in Emergency Medicine and member of BASICS national Executive was returning from the successful resuscitation of a child cardiac arrest with a colleague when they were mobilised just before 6.30pm to the accident on the eastbound carriageway on the A27, just east of Falmer, opposite the Newmarket Inn.

Dr Cottingham said "We were approaching the scene along the westbound carriageway of the A27 and the lack of approaching vehicles was our first warning of how serious it was. Having turned round we then fought our way through the cars and were the first medical resource on scene"

Police said a silver Vauxhall Corsa, travelling east, crashed with a Peugeot boxer van before hitting a Renault Clio. Two women in the Corsa were left trapped in the wreckage and had to be cut out by fire and rescue crews. The doctors had to anaesthetise and ventilate one of the casualties at the scene.

One 40-year-old woman was evacuated to hospital in the Police helicopter to the Royal Sussex County Hospital suffering serious injuries.

The other woman, a 38-year-old was transferred by road and remains in hospital with serious injuries.

Dr Cottingham said "It proved to be a remarkably busy day with the two incidents coming together and typically was on the night of the Department's Christmas party."