05.05.2011 Five injured in head on crash on A21 near Tonbridge
Five people were injured, three seriously after two cars collided on the A21 near Tonbridge, Kent at 23:50 last night (Sunday 5 June 2011).
Two cars collided head-on whilst travelling along the A21between Pembury and Tonbridge. Emergency services were dispatched from as far as Maidstone and Sevenoaks to attend the incident. A SIMCAS nurse and five ambulances were required to treat the victims, one of whom was trapped in his car. Police and fire crews also attended the crash.
One man was trapped in his car and needed to be cut free whilst the other 4 casualties, all travelling in the other vehicle, had been pulled free of the car by a quick-thinking passer-by. Tony Kemp - a volunteer Immediate Care Nurse with SIMCAS - was called by from his home in Tunbridge Wells to attend the incident and said "it is at times like this that even a little first aid training is invaluable and can potentially save a life."
Tony commented "this was a very serious accident at a notorious accident blackspot, the teamwork from all of the emergency services as well as from a passing hospital doctor was excellent."
All five casualties were taken to hospital in Tunbridge Wells by a fleet of ambulances, each casualty was immobilised at scene with full spinal precautions. Police closed the road into the early hours to conduct an investigation into the cause of the collision.
Notes
- Tony Kemp is a nurse who lives in Tonbridge. He has worked as a volunteer emergency responder for SIMCAS for many years.
- The South East Coast Immediate Care Scheme (SIMCAS) has been active for over 20 years. It is an emergency care charity and provides properly equipped, experienced doctors or nurses at the scene of an accident or emergency when requested by the Fire, Police or Ambulance Services. It sends specialists to about 500 incidents per year.
- Many areas around the UK now have their own immediate care scheme. Nationally these are grouped under the BASICS (The British Association for Immediate Care) organisation.
- SIMCAS is fortunate in its close links with South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb). SIMCAS provide the Medical Incident Commander (or MIC) for a major incident anywhere in Kent, Surrey or Sussex.
- SIMCAS volunteers have a wealth of experience in pre-hospital care and include GPs, emergency medicine consultants and anaesthetists. They have specialist medical training as well as driver training and assist as part of the emergency services response in their own vehicles (which are equipped with lights and sirens).
- Being able to give a general anaesthetic at the roadside and provide advanced pain relief as well as performing life saving surgical procedures can mean the difference between life and death.
- We work in our communities, assisting the road and air ambulances to bring life saving care to the victims of major trauma. The majority of SIMCAS volunteers' work involves serious road traffic collisions, penetrating trauma such a stabbings but can involve managing major incidents.
- www.simcas.org.uk. Registered U.K. Charity Number 297590
- For further information contact Dr Neil Iosson (07866 424754 or neil@iosson.net)