The following article features images of a sensitive nature that some readers may find distressing.
The Isle of Wight’s emergency services came together to conduct a realistic, multi-agency training exercise last night (Tuesday), simulating a multi-vehicle road traffic collision on a narrow country lane. The exercise simulated an incident where teams from Ambulance, Police, Fire, Coastguard and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance worked together to respond, triage and treat multiple causalities involved in an incident at night, giving their own time to take part in this valuable training exercise. The scenario took place at Betty Haunt Lane in Newport and involved a coach carrying a number of passengers losing control in poor weather conditions. Caught up in the bad weather was a second vehicle on its way to the Hospital and a 3rd vehicle driving dangerously. What follows is multiple injuries that require an emergency response from all agencies. The first on-scene was an Operational Commander from the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service who made assessments of the scene before resources from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service arrived. Those present worked to check all the casualties and make the best plans to treat the ‘casualties’ not just injured on the roadside but also stuck in the various vehicles involved too. Firefighters made all the vehicles safe and stable, taking doors off some and removing the windscreen from the body of the coach – which had ended up on its side – to allow them to easily extricate casualties from the wreckage. Casualties whose injuries were more severe included a man with spinal and neck injuries trapped in an overturned car and a group of youngsters trapped inside a Ford Fiesta which had sustained heavy damage as well as a moped rider who had been flung from the 2-wheeled vehicle. 
The ‘incident’ was allowed to evolve in real-time with ‘casualties’ screaming for help, some becoming irate and frustrated as they waited to be ‘rescued’. Officers from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary worked to maintain the scene and assist the efforts of firefighters and paramedics were possible, with some administering first aid at the roadside. In what seemed like an endless flashing of blue lights, further resources including doctors and nurses from St Mary’s Hospital and flying doctors from HIOWAA were also called to the ‘major incident’. Coastguard Helicopter 175 was also drafted in, circling the area above the incident with HM Coastguard Officers ready to make a helicopter landing site (HLS), however this wasn’t needed. Dr John Pike, Isle of Wight Ambulance Service Medical Lead, said:
“Running an exercise of this scale provides a realistic training experience for not just the IW Ambulance Service teams, but all the agencies that we work with. “It is the best way of testing and making sure our plans are robust if the need arises to respond to an incident where a large number of casualties and bystanders are involved. “The scenario is never based on real events. We create a situation which is as realistic as possible, in a location with the least amount of disruption, so that we are able to fully put to the test our response plans across the whole Isle of Wight emergency care landscape. “Thank you to everyone that volunteered their own time to this evening’s exercise. It was another hugely success event and provided a fully comprehensive response.”
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Throughout the exercise paramedics were examined in the delivery of an enhanced set of trauma and critical care management skills. The scenario also tested complex decision making and communication within and between different agencies and stress-tested both clinical and operational skills and systems. This is 3rd successive year that training exercises have been completed following an exercise at Cheverton Farm in 2021 and the Military Museum last year.
