Paramedics, Police, HM Coastguard and the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance have rushed to Yaverland this afternoon (Sunday) in response to a seaside medical emergency.
It was at around 15:00 that emergency calls were made to report an ongoing medical emergency on the beach at Yaverland.
The Isle of Wight Ambulance Service dispatched 2 ambulances, a Critical Care Paramedic and Operational Commander to the scene to tend to the poorly patient, who Island Echo understands is a male.
Such was the severity of the initial call, the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance (KSSAA) was scrambled from its base, landing next to Yaverland Boating Club.
Due to location of the incident HM Coastguard crews from Ventnor and Bembridge were also tasked to the scene.
After assessment by flying doctors, the air ambulance has taken off heading back to its base at Redhill Aerodrome.
Police are on scene directing traffic.
Those on scene are beginning to stand down.
UPDATE MONDAY – Police have confirmed that a man in his 70s has died.
Read more at https://www.islandecho.co.uk/man-in-his-70s-dies-following-medical-emergency-at-yaverland/.
I have no wish to be critical of the ambulance service who do a great job, I am critical of the control room and policy to send three ambulances and an air ambulance for one casualty, it is an appalling waste of public money and resources, send one, if they need more send for them, all other emergency services do this and it works well.
I am always very reluctant to criticise our emergency services but in deployment terms, this response seems extraordinarily resource heavy for a single person medical emergency. If we are going to make the resources go around we need to get much better at this.
How many vehicles does it take to tend to someone that evidently was not ill enough to even go to hospital?
My wife, like many of you, pays a generous amount each month to fund the Air Ambulance. Was this remotely necessary to have all these vehicle at a scene for one person?
IOW(peace reigns) not like London and when a shout goes up . a case of all go we need some practise shift has been quiet so far. needs someone to say from the outset no more required after initial arrival.
The person died. Do you still want to tell their relatives that you feel your wife’s ‘generous donation’ wasn’t worth sending the air ambulance out to try to save them?
Correct, the person didn’t go to hospital but rather to the mortuary. Your comment at best is inappropriate other terms are available to show your lack of respect for this person. I think you would want the Pre Determined Attendance if this happened to you.
“someone that evidently was not ill enough to even go to hospital”
in case you weren’t aware,.. they don’t usually take dead people to hospital by helicopter (or even by ambulance)
RIP to the gentleman concerned,.. and condolences to his family
This comment didn’t age well, did it, Concerned Taxpayer? As someone who was there and saw the events unfold from a distance, your point about the amount of resources dispatched perhaps has some small degree of value, but your assumption that the person wasn’t ill enough to warrant that level of response read pretty ridiculously even before the sad outcome was confirmed. Surely, the actual outcome was the far more obvious possibility, given the degree of response? Try to think before you post in future, and have at least as much concern for your fellow man as for the funds in your bank.
It’s not very often, if at all that I comment on here, but this makes me angry to think that all the comments so far are to do with money and resources and not a single thought for the poor man and his family!?
People judge and jump to conclusions so quickly!
They dispatch as many ambulances and as much help as possible for someone who
needs CPR as it is a very difficult and distressing thing to have to do so the more people that can rotate and perform this the better it will be, the air ambulance would have been dispatched to transport a very sick patient to hospital quickly to optimise chance of survival and treatment. Police would be there for support and to help with the security of the area and traffic.
Sadly if the air ambulance was no longer needed then that would suggest a very sad outcome. All assets would be dispatched to enable maximum help for someone so ill, surely we would all rather this if it was one of our loved ones and then sadly if there were not needed to then be stood down rather than not enough help to try and save someone in the first place?!
Some people boggle my brain!
Absolutely this. It was, unfortunately, a very sad outcome.
These commenters are the sort of people who, given half a chance, would probably be chasing the surviving relatives to pay the bill, seeing as the services turning out didn’t result in a happy ending!
I do not wish to take issue with your reasoned comment but it is factually incorrect, all ambulances carry very good de fib units, far more efficient than those that are stocked at leisure centres and village halls etc. air aumbulances carry manual thorax compressors so the need for manual CPR is redundant. Only two people can work on a casualty, anymore and you are tripping over each other., the resources that did turn up were not stood down, they all left within a couple of minutes of each other.