Select a region
A training exercise was put on hold so the Flying Christine could be used on an emergency call-out during what turned out to be another busy day for its volunteer crew.
St John Ambulance had arranged for the marine ambulance to be used in a practice drill with Herm's Community First Responders on Sunday afternoon, but before that could happen the Sark doctor asked for a patient transfer to Guernsey.
That call out was at lunchtime yesterday, with the volunteer crew then taking the Flying Christine to Herm for the training exercise during the afternoon.
However, at around 16:00 - before the coaching was complete - the Flying Christine was needed in Sark again.
The crew responded to a 999 call for a patient in Sark who needed urgent medical assistance. They went and picked the patient up and took them into St Peter Port Harbour where a road ambulance met the patient and took them to the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
The Flying Christine returned to its base in St Peter Port Harbour after that but it wasn't long before she was in action again.
At around 19:30 last night a patient in Herm needed medical assistance so the marine ambulance went back over.
The patient also needed hospital treatment so they were also brought back to St Peter Port and met by an ambulance crew for transfer to the PEH.
This busy shift for staff and volunteers follows two call outs to Sark in one day last week, meaning the Flying Christine has been in action five times in 8 days.
A spokesperson for the St John Ambulance and Rescue Service said that "Ambulance and Rescue would like to thank the volunteeer boat crews who assisted with these cases, as well as the medical crews on duty and all of those involved in the training exercise.
"The Flying Christine III is a lifeline for the islands of the Bailiwick, providing a paramedic response and patient transfer to sick or injured patients in Herm, Sark, and Alderney. The purpose-built marine ambulance was built in 1994 with the support of public donations. The charitable asset is operated by Ambulance and Rescue (Guernsey's ambulance service), crewed by skilled volunteers from the marine community and staffed by medical crews from the ambulance service."
Pictured: The Flying Christine in action (Gaz Papworth).
Two Sark visits for Flying Christine crew
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.