An incident occurred recently where one of our cyclists fell off his bike after skidding on a wet and very slippery section of the bike path. We had just left Gainsborough and were cycling down a steep section of the path heading towards Swamp Road and Jamberoo.
Michael initially thought he hadn’t hurt himself much and was about to get back onto his bike. By this time a few had gathered around and his damaged, very bloody left thumb was noticed. He clearly was not able to get back on his bike, let alone continue the ride. He sat down, then lay back on the path, by this stage, he was not feeling too well.
Thoughts about calling his wife (who was not on the ride) to come and fetch him were momentarily entertained, however, calling the ambulance seemed a better option, given his thumb looked badly injured. So I got on my phone and using the Emergency Plus App, called 000. Cindy undertook to contact Stuart who was leading the ride. Being unaware of the incident which occurred near the back of the group, he and a few others were peddling on towards Jamberoo. Cindy also encouraged a few who were still hanging back, to continue riding with her to catch up with the others. Just a few of us remained. While I was on the phone, Trish set about trying to contact Michael’s wife, Sandra to let her know. The Ambulance Service asked several questions about the incident and how it happened. They asked for details about Michael’s injury and condition, and confirmed that he was lying down on the path, out of harm’s way. Strict instructions were given that he must not move, nor should he be given anything to drink. They asked for our location, luckily we were almost under a street sign, I also used what3words. They requested that someone wait at the road intersection to look out for the ambulance. They arrived within about 20 minutes and took over. At this point I contacted Stuart and Cindy to give an update. Trish got in touch with Dave who very fortunately was in the area in his car – he was able to take Michael’s bike. The Ambulance Officers examined Michael and dressed his injury, then assisted him into the ambulance and took him to Wollongong Hospital. Those of us remaining got back on our bikes and continued to Jamberoo – a bit late but still in time for coffee.
There have often been debates about what to do in the event of an incident when someone is injured, especially whether or not to call an ambulance. Locations and terrains may limit the options. However, dealing with this particular incident helped to clarify some of the issues we’ve run up against before.
- If the person is too injured or too ill to continue an activity, call an ambulance. If in doubt, call an ambulance.
- The leader has a deputy and/or a tail-tender for such situations – despite the incident, in most cases the activity should continue.
- A few need to stay back to assist in managing the incident. There were a number of tasks – calling the ambulance, contacting others, loading the bike, looking out for the ambulance, keeping the injured person comfortable until the ambulance arrived etc.
- Using the Emergency App which includes what3words is invaluable in explaining location. We were lucky being so close to a street sign.
- I was reminded of the importance of not moving an injured person (we were in a safe place) and not allowing them to drink anything.
- Communications are vital – especially between the leader, deputy and/or tail-ender. This means that phones need to be on and set to ring loudly.
- Note (especially to self) on this last point!
Penny Howes
