SA Firefighter

Not sure that the limited RFDS capability and resources is just argument for a helicopter. Any use of a rotary winged rescue aircraft would be used for "local' work. A helicopter would be rarely used to fly someone to Adelaide. It is far safer to manage them in Mt Gambier hospital until a fixed wing resource is available. A rotary wing trip (AB 412) from Mt Gambier to Adelaide would be approx 2.5 - 4 hours at a guess with a stop for fuel on the way, (used to be 1 hour flying time from FMC to Keith). This is compared to a 50 min - 1 hr trip to the Mount via fixed wing Pilatus (RFDS).

A rescue helicopter could be used to transfer critically ill people from other SE hospitals to Mt Gambier, however I don't think that Mt Gambier High Dependency would be able to cope with this. Many retrievals are done direct to the country hospital concerned (but not always) however some transferring does occur. Not sure that the cost of rotary wing v's road transfer from a SE hospital to the Mount would be well argued especially if they are then simply transferred on to Adelaide via RFDS.

Also if local ambulance resources were not able to meet operational needs, then a rapid response for trauma using a helicopter could be considered but again, very expensive resource for not a lot of return and returning a patient to what level of care.?

Hate to say it Bill, but I would be very VERY surprised if the proposal got off the ground (pardon the pun), it has little bang for buck features and doesn't address the primary concern that you raised of getting people to Adelaide.

@ Badjas - For Retrievals involving Medstar, the 'utilise' RFDS for transport. A standing arrangement exists whereby the retrieval service will contact SAAS stating the nature and location of the trauma / critically ill patient and then liaise as to the best transport medium to take the team out and bring them back.

This might involve private car / taxi / SAAS vehicle / SAAS ambulance / Rotary wing - AB412, BK117 or EC130 or fixed wing - Pilatus (RFDS), Commercial jet or Charter Jet. (Occasionally water craft are required and this might involve SAPOL / SES or Marine and Harbours etc) Often a combination is used throughout a retrieval. I believe that Medstar will be having their own rapid response vehicles to mean that they are self-sufficient for responding from other emergency services (ie SAAS).

I believe that Moomba have a helicopter, used for general duties but can be configured for patient transport.

When I worked at Ayers Rock, we had an agreement with a local Helicopter charter company to provide a rapid response capability for nurse / paramedic to outlying emergencies. This would mostly be backed up by a road vehicle for transport.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Shane

West Beach AirPort... (WBAP)

Thanks for the pick up, BM..

and YES thats what I was referring to.

1927147 12:05:33 06-02-09 F75 PLEASE CALL ME FAT WHEELWHAIR REQUIRED AT NOARLUNGA HOSP 

Several ways to get a laff out of this....
But hey, why say bariatric when FAT will do..!!!!

Hopefully F75 didn't call the operator a "fat Wheelchair"...!!!!

Cheers
Shane

I haven't seen or heard the material that has been mentioned however need to correct a couple of things. The text below in italics is taken from the State Emergency Management Plan SA (2005). This Plan is currently being reviewed and due for republish this year.

"The SEWS is only to be used in threatening circumstances when it is necessary for the population to take some action to reduce potential loss to life or property"

"Care must be taken to maintain the status and effectiveness of the signal by limiting its use to significant events as determined by the Control Agency in close consultation with the Coordinating Agency."
These may include:
• Major urban or rural fires;
• Severe weather;
• Major flooding and/or dam burst;
• Major Earthquakes;
• Major hazardous material emergencies;
• Major pollution emergencies;
• Human caused events;
• Tsunami, and/or
• Terrorism.

"The decision to use SEWS and to broadcast / transmit an emergency warning rests with the relevant Control Agency who will advise the Coordinating Agency as soon as practicable."

"The SEWS is only to be used under strict instruction. It can only be broadcast when approved by a ‘State Controller’, who is authorised under Section 17 of the Emergency Management Act 2004."

Based upon the above, and 'assuming' that the 'heatwave' has been considered a Health related emergency, this would mean that the Department of Health are the Control Agency and as such their State Controller (Dr Bill Griggs) or rostered other deputy Controller can then use SEWS in accordance with the above info.

SAAS are not considered a Control Agency, however they lead the Ambulance and First Aid Functional Service, which is a separate functional service to Health.

If from what the above posts describe, that SES used SEWS and posted information relation to the current Heatwave emergency, then I too would be a little confuzzled as I would have thought it would be a DoH job.. The current Plan clearly has DoH as the Control Agency for Health related emergencies. SES are considered for "severe weather" and as such if this was not considered a health related emergency but rather one of severe weather then SES would indeed be the Control Agency.

Also where an emergency exists you can only have ONE Control Agency and the current plan is designed to ensure that there is a Control Agency from the start and no transference of Control during emergencies (except under temporary arrangements such as fire or rescue requirements exists).

Maybe they will when that horrible SEWS noise is used - you are having a shot at the wrong people - it could have been CFS who were ordered by the Commissioner (read premier) to issue the warning.

The State Coordinator (under the SEMP) is the Commissioner of Police (or rostered deputy) not the Premier and when acting as the State Coordinator during emergencies he relinquishes his police responsibilities. The Premier chairs the Emergency Management Council, which comprises of;
• Treasurer
• Attorney-General
• Minister for Agriculture Food and Fisheries
• Minister for Police
• Minister for Emergency Services
• Minister for Transport
• Minister for Health
 
Below them is the SA Emergency Management Committee which comprises of

• Chief Officers of ESO
  Commissioner of Police
  CEO's of 9 Government Agencies
  Local Government rep.

Cheers
Shane

Have decided to place this thread here as it is the opinion of firies that I mainly want and it is not limited to SAAS, but rather involves St John as well.

What are the thoughts and feelings of the services provided by both St John and SAAS at Staging Areas etc when large fires are on.

• What services have you received / used and what it of used to you personally..??
• Do you believe that St John provide any additional benefit / support to the other agencies already deployed to the incident..??

• Do you believe that SAAS provide any additional benefit / support to the other agencies already deployed to the incident..??

• What are some areas of improvement for the provision of medical / first aid services at these incidents..??

I would welcome constructive, useful discussion on this topic. Also, those of you involved with IMT arrangements, at what point do you consider / activate some form of Medical / First Aid response to large incidents such as bushfires..??

Cheers
Straps
[/list][/list]

I would be keen to set up my own pdw at home.

Can someone point me in the right direction to understand things better, also what I need and how to do it..

(I have been to this website - http://www.gsm-antennes.nl/PDW/pdw.php?lang=eng and downloaded version 2.52 but now have NO IDEA what to do..??)

Cheers
Straps

Paging callsign of Uniform Charlie 1..
1924962 18:09:09 05-12-08 UC1 Cat2 4 Stroma Rd, Marion 141 F12 POLICE REQUIRED SAAS Road Crash Research

I thought I had heard most of them but dunno who UC1 is..

Any thoughts..

Cheers
Straps