At 15:30 today the team was contacted by NWAS Paramedic Emergency Control at Manchester regarding assistance to an injured woman within the Moses Gate Country Park, Farnworth, area.
Both our Team Leader and Deputy Leader collected relevant information from Ambulance Control ascertaining it was an injury to a horse rider who had shoulder and suspected spinal injuries.
A full team pager call was made at 15:39 resulting in an immediate response by our Mountain Rescue Landrover ambulances BM1 and BM3.
Our Deputy Leader Geoff Seddon was the first MRT member on scene, joining the Ambulance crew and establishing that the casualty site was on the bridle path system within the country park overlooking the River Croal just beyond the “Red Bridge”.
At 16:00 our BM1 arrived at the roadhead near to the “Red Bridge”, followed at 16:01 by our BM3 vehicle.
At the casualty site, the 26 year old experienced female horse rider (from the Stoneclough area) was given self-administered Entonox initially.
With her serious shoulder injury splinted she was then placed on a long-board completed with head blocks and cervical collar due to a possible spinal injury.
She was then further treated with a Fentanyl Lozenge opiate for pain relief.
The stretcher evacuation of the injured lady (on a Mountain Rescue stretcher) commenced at 16:22. By 16:27 the casualty had been evacuated to the waiting NWAS Emergency Ambulance at the “Red Bridge”.
She was then transported to Royal Bolton Hospital in the ambulance with team member Mark Scott accompanying the ambulance crew in their vehicle.
In total, 10 Bolton MRT team members were involved in this incident with a further 7 team members stood down responding. The NWAS Emergency Ambulance crew were from Bolton South (Highfield) Ambulance Station.
As an aside, former team member and current long-serving GMFRS Firefighter Ray Clift was walking his dog in the country park at the time of the incident and was aware of the NWAS Ambulance RVP; Ray gave directions to responding team members as they entered the country park.
