Matt Hillis

Responding to a road traffic accident is one of those jobs where you imagination can run away with you. Most modern cars have airbags and crumple zones but you still can't help thinking, what if the pts are trapped in the cars? If they’re pinned by their feet or they were stupid and didn’t wear a seatbelt?

Nowadays RTA's are generally minor, a rear end shunt, T-bone or even a roll over is easy to deal with most people are up, out & walking. But its ones where you get the 999 call and drive off with your lights and sirens going, you start getting more info from control, "this is 3 car RTA with persons reported trapped, there is body in the road? ejected (that seatbelt thing!)" then you know its going to be bedlam when you get there!

Often someone grabs you and says his mate/wife/friend is hurt. But being first on scene is about assessing all the pts and calling for more back up. This can be really harrowing as people are imploring you to help the people they love. Some get quite angry but you know it’s just the stress of the moment if you met them in pub they be a really nice person.

The blood and guts you see on casualty is pretty graphic but when its real people and they are screaming in pain, or more worryingly not screaming but just sitting there then you know you have to move fast.

We work very closely with the fire & rescue service. When they pitch up and you wave to the sub officer on the pump to come over to you, it can be a relief, at least you can start to extract pt’s from what is left of their cars! The sub will ask (we’ll shout cos it’s always noisy at scene) what do you need? If you have that quite pt who is trapped its “We need a rapid extrication, the pt’s going off. We need to going to hospital in 10 mins” Then the fire fighters start ruining you no claims bonus!  

It’s the human cost that can become evident, once you have done what you are trained to do and got the pt to hospital. Cleaning your wagon outside A&E you often see the relatives congregating with huge out pouring of emotions and sadly on some occasions grief.

It brings it home, it could be you standing there hugging your dad hoping your mum pulls through the operation. If only that fool who had hit her hadn’t been using his mobile phone and why did he walk away from the crash with only scratches!