Life Support Training Services
By Amanda Phillips, May 2000
First
Aid, Survival Skills, Vehicle Skills - LSTS expertly provided it all as
Amanda Phillips reports...
Not wanting to cut corners with
regards to safety, the team wanted to make an effort at equipping
themselves to be able to deal with potential danger situations that may
arise whilst away. Having no medical training between them, they decided
they should at least know the basics. Life Support Training Services
then came to the rescue. Daryl kindly tailored a 5 day course of
instruction in Expedition Skills and Casualty Care. I wasn’t quite
sure what we were about to put ourselves through when I read that LSTS
is used by journalists reporting from hostile countries and the
instructors are ex-military who instruct in "combat lifesaver
training", "hostile environment negotiation" and
"hostage awareness" to name a few. This was enough to cope with, I thought,
let alone an expedition to Latin America....
My reservations were completely unfounded. We spent the first few
days in the classroom covering important medical issues, including CPR.
I found that once the theory was out the way the hands-on approach was
very conducive to learning. Every point covered was relayed in a wilderness
situation where you wouldn’t have access to dial 999. We were
given ample opportunity to put our newly acquired knowledge to the test
when we were put in realistic scenarios with minimum resources. In view of the
fact that our expedition will take us through mountains in Central and
South America the blustery hills of the Lake District were the perfect
surroundings (at least as good as you can get in England!) to practice
casualty care in a remote environment.
I had the easy job of playing somebody suffering from shock following
a cave exploration accident. After establishing that I wasn’t hurt,
Jo, Michael and Mark, who were dealing with the seriously injured
casualty neglected to check on me so I tried to make my own way to
safety. I was able to enjoy the countryside during a long stroll whilst
they all dealt with a collapsing cave (well, Daryl throwing stones at
the walls, but you have to use your imagination) and a casualty with a
back injury. Even though it wasn’t long before they noticed my absence
they couldn’t see which way I had gone and it took some time to find
me. Such mistakes proved to be great learning tools.
The expedition vehicle was put through its paces as we received our
introduction to off-road driving. We dealt with a variety of terrain:
sand (that we still find in the car since Michael took on a sand dune
with the front windows open!), rocks, mud - and all at a gradient. Daryl
was determined to get our shiny new sand ladders dirty, which was
accomplished on the beach at Haverigg.
Our final day was spent navigating our way across the countryside
minus vehicle (it was stolen from us that morning by a couple of
bandits). We had to contend with sketchy maps, amorous natives and the
ubiquitous casualties. The course was immensely enjoyed by all but you
can’t help looking at the serious side when you are forced to react to
crucial situations. Being taking hostage is not a situation I would like
to repeat, even though my experience is just pretend. Of course we hope
that the type of hostile situations LSTS made us deal with will not be
encountered on our expedition, but at least we have the confidence of
knowing that we have some medical and survival skills. Failing that we
can always call LSTS for help!
We are extremely grateful to Daryl for giving up his time and for
sharing all his advice that you don’t get in a book. Also thanks to
Dave for being a splendid casualty/bandit/hijacker.
The LSTS instruction course is recommended by the Royal Geographical
Society Expedition Advisory Centre.
Life
Support Training Services
128
Main Street
Haverigg
Millom,
Cumbria
LA18
4EY
