Close to midnight, late this evening at 23.54hrs we were paged by NWAS (Greater Manchester) EOC regards a collapsed male in woodlands within the Hindley area of Wigan.

Our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE liaised with NWAS EOC to obtain further details, and a full team call out was initiated at 00.04hrs on Thursday 22nd October, for the team to RVP at Hindley Mill Lane, Hindley, Wigan.

Our Training Officer Alistair Greenough was first to scene, arriving at circa 00.05hrs, to find GMP Officers also involved in this incident, alongside a responding NWAS Rapid Response Vehicle solo Paramedic and a GMFRS Fire Appliance and crew.

Our Team Leader next arrived at 00.16hrs alongside the first responding elements of the NWAS HART Team.

The male had suffered a medical collapse, and required evacuation on a specialist scoop stretcher.

Medical care was jointly provided by NWAS / HART and Bolton MRT members, with the attending GMFRS crew (who had first been called to cut through a locked gate to gain access to the area) assisting with a short mountain rescue stretcher carry from within America Wood / Borsdane Wood to one of our team Land Rover Ambulances, which via a track had driven close to the incident site.

By 01.04hrs the male casualty, on a scoop stretcher in turn on a SAR Alpine Lite mountain rescue stretcher was placed in to the rear of our Land Rover ‘ Bolton Mobile 2,’ which then ferried the casualty to the waiting NWAS Emergency Ambulance for handover at the RVP on Hindley Mill Lane.

By 01.40hrs the Emergency Ambulance then departed with the injured man for Wigan Hospital, with all resources clear of the incident RVP by 01.52hrs.

All involved in this rescue, GMP / GMFRS / NWAS / NWAS HART / Bolton MRT worked together very well to effect a casualty evacuation to hospital and further medical care.

The following resources were involved in this incident:

• Greater Manchester Police
  • Force Duty Control Room
  • at least six GMP Officers on scene including a Police General Purpose Dog Unit.
• GMFRS Pump Appliance and crew from GMFRS Hindley Community Fire Station.
• NWAS (Greater Manchester area)
  • EOC Parkway
  • Rapid Response Vehicle with solo crew Paramedic, from Wigan Ambulance Station
  • Emergency Ambulance with two crew from Billinge Ambulance Station.
• NWAS HART Team from Trafford Park, including five specialist HART vehicles, Team Leader and four other HART members.
• Bolton Mountain Rescue Team
  • Three Land Rover Defender Mountain Rescue Ambulances
  • Twenty team members attended on scene.
  • One team member (Ken Oakes) was stood down responding in our Incident Control Vehicle, and team member Mike Marsh co–ordinated our SARCALL log from his home address.
  • In total twenty two team members involved.