Keswick Bus Crash: at about 15.35 on 24 th May 2010 a local coach carrying 64 people, mainly children aged 12-16yrs being taken home in West Cumbria following a day at Keswick School, collided with an oncoming car, lost control & tipped onto it's left hand side. A Major Incident was declared & Dr. Theo Weston, Chairman of the BEEP Fund, attended in the BEEP emergency response vehicle using equipment from the vehicle to treat casualties & acting as Medical Incident Commander. He joined forces with several other local Pre-Hospital Emergency Care (BASICS) Doctors from Keswick, Caldbeck & West Cumbria and they assisted other members of the Ambulance Service along with the Police & Fire Service personnel at the scene treating those injured. Two of the children plus the car driver were killed instantly & 6 others were seriously/critically injured. Three Air Ambulances attended (from the Great North Air Ambulance & the Northwest Ambulance Service) plus two SAR Sea King helicopters from the military. The more seriously injured were flown to Newcastle General Hospital, James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough & Preston Royal Infirmary, while the other less seriously injured were taken to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle or West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven. A triaging/treatment centre was set up in the nearby Braithwaite Village primary school, where exact numbers were worked out & movements co-ordinated. This event has clearly shaken the local community & our sincere condolences go out to those involved, especially those who have lost loved ones.

West Cumbria shootings: during the late morning of Wednesday 2 nd June 2010, a lone crazed gunman opened fire on a large number of individuals in the vicinity of Workington/Whitehaven/Egremont/Edale in West Cumbria, leaving a trail of death & injury in his wake before eventually turning the gun on himself. Dr. Theo Weston, Chairman of the BEEP Fund Ltd., was requested to attend & drove to a rendezvous point at the West Cumberland Hospital in the BEEP Emergency response vehicle, arriving at approximately 12.50. He joined the emergency response in the back of a front line ambulance trying to locate & treat seriously injured casualties. Several other local BASICS Doctors were also involved either in front line ambulances or within West Cumberland Hospital. T welve people were senselessly killed & another eleven seriously injured. The day has left the West Cumbria community in shock & disbelief at what happened and will never be forgotten. Our most sincere condolences go out to all those affected by these dreadful events.

Pedestrian Seriously Injured: at about 17.30 on Thursday 17 th June 2010, a 21yr old female pedestrian was knocked down by a car on the B5320 near Yanwath, Penrith, sustaining a serious head injury. She was anaesthetised and treated at the roadside by two BEEP Doctors as well as the doctors & paramedics from the Pride of Cumbria Air Ambulance. She was flown to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesborough, where a couple of days later she was continuing to make a good recovery from her injuries.

Major Incident 23rd February 2007
A high-speed nine-car Glasgow-bound Virgin train travelling from London to Scotland derailed at Greyrigg in Cumbria at 8:10 p.m, sending the carriages slipping down an embankment and killing one person and injuring dozens others. BASICS doctors were mobilised from Cumbria (including two from the BEEP Fund who used the equipment & the car provided by the Fund in the incident), Lancashire and Merseyside to attend the scene. There were 95 passengers on board. Five critically injured were transported in RAF Sea King helicopters to Lancaster Royal Infirmary and the Royal Preston Hospital. Seven others were also taken to hospital with significant injuries. A Royal Lancaster Infirmary spokeswoman confirmed early Saturday that one of the hospital's patients, an elderly lady had died in hospital of injuries sustained in the crash. Some 65 were walking wounded were taken to a school in Greyrigg and to a hotel where they were examined by BASICS doctors. In all 17 doctors responded to the incident from all parts of the surrounding area. The incident was managed by Cumbrian BASICS doctor & BEEP Fund Chairman Dr. Theo Weston. The mobile medical team who attended the crash from Lancaster Royal Infirmary were full of praise for the BASICS doctors on scene. A casualty clearing area was initially established at a nearby farm. One casualty, initially considered to be walking wounded, was identified to be deteriorating, and required a surgical procedure for a collapsed lung. When the ambulance services amalgamated last year the Immediate Care Schemes recognised that it was necessary to develop a co-ordinated approach for North West Ambulance but today was the first time that the mutual aid of schemes from other Counties had to be called upon.


FREE BASIC LIFE SUPPORT TRAINING.
A partnership between The BEEP Fund and The British Heart Foundation.
You could make a difference between someone surviving to carry on with their lives or not surviving at all. All it will take is an hour and a half of your time to learn and practice the skill of basic life support in a friendly and fun atmosphere and IT IS FREE. During these sessions there will be teaching by a professional resuscitation training officer on how to perform life saving manoeuvres such as mouth-to-mouth, chest compressions and the recovery position on adults though there will also be some teaching on how this varies in children.
So don’t delay, act Today, download your application form here.

We are already going into local schools to teach youngsters, especially those about to start driving, about basic resuscitation and first aid measures at the scene of a road traffic accident. The plan is for this programme to expand into regular training sessions.

PAST INCIDENTS

18/06/06 14.40 on A6 half a mile south of Plumpton, Penrith, Cumbria, one car with five occupants (teenage driver, his two sisters, his 4 month old baby plus his girlfriend) lost control on a wet road & collided with another car, which contained an elderly husband & wife. Sadly all five in the first car were killed instantly as was the male driver in the second but the wife was still alive & trapped with very serious injuries within her car. She was cut free by firemen & treated at the scene by the BEEP Dr (along with paramedics) as well as in the ambulance en route to hospital at Carlisle. At the time of writing, she has spent several weeks in Intensive Care but has now on a normal ward & making steady progress. Although one of the most tragic incidents we have had to deal with, we were able to contribute significantly to saving the life of the sole survivor.

04/08/06 00.30: on small "B" road near Ousby, Penrith, Cumbria, two cars collided head-on. One young driver died instantly but the driver of the other suffered very serious injuries & after being cut free of the wreckage by firemen was treated at the scene by the BEEP Dr & paramedics but despite their best efforts he too sadly died at the scene. A third casualty was also treated by the BEEP Dr & paramedics for less severe injuries & was taken to hospital for further treatment.

30/04/06 12.30 RTC on A686 between Melmerby and Hartside, motorbike collided with car; the driver of the motorbike sustained very serious head and arm injuries and was treated at the scene by paramedics and the BEEP doctor, who were able to stabilise his condition before flying with him in the Great North Air Ambulance helicopter straight to the Trauma and Neurosurgery Unit at Newcastle General Hospital; at the time of writing his condition is stable.

16/04/06 21.30 RTC on minor road near Salkeld Dykes near Lazonby; car overturned and driver trapped half out of the vehicle with very serious head injuries; thanks to the excellent first aid of the first on scene fireman and later the advanced skills and treatment by the BEEP Doctor and paramedics, his condition was significantly improved at the roadside and en route to Carlisle, turning a desperate situation into one of considerable hope; he is now making a steady recovery in Newcastle General Hospital.

21/02/06 RTC; three pedestrians knocked down on a crossing on the Ullswater
Road, Penrith. Two had minor injuries but the third had very serious
injuries and was given emergency treatment at the scene by the BEEP Doctor
and paramedics before being taken to the Cumberland Infirmary where she
sadly died from her injuries.

21/02/06 RTC; one vehicle lost control on the B5305 near Crown Point 3-4
miles north of Hutton-in-the Forest; the driver, who had very serious
injuries, was trapped for half an hour before being cut free by the Fire
Service. He was given emergency treatment while in the wreckage & also in
the ambulance en route to Carlisle by the BEEP Doctor & paramedics, though
he very sadly died later from his injuries.

07/12/05 RTA between milk tanker and a van on a country road near Bolton, northwest of Appleby: driver of the van was trapped for over one hour with severe fractures to all four limbs plus a minor head injury and chest injury. He was treated by the BEEP doctor plus a doctor from the Great North Air Ambulance in the wreckage while being released by firemen. When released he was given further treatment before being flown to the James Cooke Trauma Centre in Middlesborough.
Latest news is that he is doing well after having had surgery for his injuries.

19/10/05 - Greystoke Road, near Greystoke, Penrith, Cumbria: one car with four teenagers on board lost control on a wet road at night ending up in a small copse and hitting a tree. The BEEP Doctor and paramedics treated all four at the scene in very difficult conditions but sadly one young girl died at the scene despite their resuscitative attempts.
Two others were seriously injured and were taken to hospital in Carlisle by ambulance; the fourth sustained minor injuries.

06/07/05 - A6 Wragmire Bank, near Carlisle: two car collision where one car containing four teenagers lost control and was hit by another car with two occupants. The first car burst into flames and tragically none of the four occupants could be saved.
The BEEP Doctor and paramedics treated both the occupants of the other car who had sustained very serious injuries and needed lifesaving treatment to be administered at the scene. They were then taken to hospital in Carlisle where sadly one later died from his injuries.