18.05.2011 RTC on A38 at Chudleigh, Devon
A voluntary immediate care doctor form the TACTICS BASICS scheme attended a serious Road Traffic Collision on the south bound carriageway of the A38 near Chudleigh in Devon this morning. At approximately 0400 South Western Ambulance Service received a 999 call reporting that a single vehicle had left the south bound carriageway. Shortly after 0400 the immediate care doctor arrived on scene and worked closely with South Western Ambulance Service staff to treat the patients. Two patients had been thrown from the vehicle and had received serious injuries. Both casualties were some distance from the road down a steep embankment. One of the patients required advanced medical interventions by the doctor before transport to the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital.
There was concern that there was a third casualty, possibly a child. The car had landed in a thick wooded area so the fire service used thermal image cameras to search the scene, a Royal Air Force SeaKing helicopter was also requested to perform an aerial search of the area. Fortunately no further casualties were found.
The BASICS schemes in the region are charitable groups which train and equip volunteer doctors to provide expert treatment for acutely ill or injured people in support of South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. They all have advanced training in Pre-Hospital Care and are available 24 hours a day. The region has four BASICS schemes: BASICS Cornwall, PLIMS (Plymouth and surrounding areas), TACTICS (rest of Devon) and SAVES in Somerset, all represented by BASICS South West.