Whittlesea’s Cassie Carr found herself in the right place at the right time while on holiday after coming across a woman who had taken a fall on a trail.
Cassie works as a wilderness response paramedic for Ambulance Victoria (AV) and is trained to assist in emergencies in remote and wilderness areas, such as bushland and alpine regions.
While on a hike in Queensland’s Springbrook National Park, she came across a Queensland local, Dianne, who had slipped and fallen on rocky terrain.
“Dianne had suffered a broken wrist and compound fracture to her lower leg, so my paramedic instincts kicked into gear,” Cassie said.
“I directed her husband to call triple-0 and, despite not having a first aid kit on me, I was able to improvise and use Dianne’s socks as bandages to control the bleeding as well as stabilise her broken bones.”
Dianne was rescued from the trail by Queensland Fire and Rescue and Queensland Ambulance Service teams and taken to hospital where she underwent surgery and is now recovering well.
Cassie said the incident was a timely reminder to always be prepared for an emergency when hiking, even for short journeys.
“Always carry some sort of communication device and let someone know where you’re going and when you’re expected to be back,” she said.
“Download the EmergencyPlus app which has a built-in GPS function to help you provide a triple-0 call taker with location details, and also contains What3Words software which works offline, so can be used in remote areas with poor data connection.
“Bring food and water, and consider carrying a basic first aid kit.”
Cassie will celebrate 10 years at AV next March and has been trained as a wilderness response paramedic almost the same amount of time.
“I chose to undertake the wilderness training early on in my career because I love adventure and getting outdoors,” she said.
“It took place in the Grampians, and we camped out, did a lot of navigation skills and mock patient scenarios where we had to find the patient and treat them.
“I grew up in Kinglake in the bush and around the mountains, and I love any sort of camping or hiking related activities.”
Wilderness response paramedics are dispatched to cases such as hiking accidents, rock-climbing accidents and jobs in areas the air ambulance helicopter can’t access.
They spend most of their time working as on-road paramedics but are dispatched when notified of a wilderness incident and respond alongside other emergency services.
“I love working in a multiagency environment with SES, CFA, police, and search and rescue,” Cassie said.
“I love working as a big collaborative team.”
