At 23.35hrs late this summer evening we were paged by NWAS (Manchester) Emergency Control for the teams assistance at an incident in Haigh Hall Plantations, involving the report of a teenage girl having fallen down a gully.
A full team call out page was made at 23.47hrs by which time members were already responding to our team vehicle base locations.
Our first member at the RVP, Elaine Gilliland (Our Training Officer) arrived at 00.16hrs at the main entrance on Wigan Lane to Haigh Hall Plantations, and met up with a responding NWAS (Manchester) RRV crew member and established that an Ambulance crew was already on scene with the 16 year old girl, who had apparently fallen some 20 feet according to her friends, whilst out camping with a mixed group of youths ranging from teenagers to their early twenties.
GMFRS were called to gain access through the locked main entrance gates, with our first team vehicle arriving on scene at 00.18hrs and our Team Leader at 00.19hrs.
With access gained to the track network of the Haigh Hall Plantations, our BM3 Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulance, the NWAS (Manchester) RRV and our Team Leaders vehicle all drove into the plantations, and were able to park near to the incident location.
By this stage other responding team members and team vehicles were all held at the Wigan Lane RVP along with responding GMP Officers.
For our five team members and the NWAS RRV Paramedic in the ’rescue’ party it was a simple matter of locating the injured girl (Who following her fall had immediately been cared for by two First Aiders in the camping group) and the two NWAS crew members treating her in the dense woodlands, and providing lighting and an escort back to the RRV vehicle, and our vehicles.
The girl was driven back to the main RVP in the RRV vehicle, with our Team Leader transporting two of her friends in his car back to the RVP.
By 00.50hrs the girl involved was placed in the responding Emergency Ambulance for the very short trip (Almost across the road!) to Wigan Hospital.
All team members had left the scene by 01.20hrs.
The following resources were involved in this incident;
- Bolton MRT; 15x Team members, and our BM1,2 and 3 Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulances.
- Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service; 1x Pump appliance from Wigan Fire Station.
- North West Ambulance Service (Manchester); Emergency Control, an Emergency
- Ambulance from Wigan Ambulance Station, and a solo crewed (Paramedic) Rapid Response Vehicle.
- Greater Manchester Police; Divisional Officers.Thanks are expressed to the camping friends of the girl involved for their help and assistance in this incident.
