Hang Tough
One of the world's most
notorious obstacle courses was run 25 July at
Perton Farm in Wolverhampton entitled Tough Guy: Return of the
Jungle Warrior. The challenge gathered participants from
all over the world and St John Ambulance West
Midlands were on site and well prepared for any serious injuries at
this large scale summer event.
This year, more than 2,500
competitors, male and female, climbed walls, crawled in
mud, swam through lakes and jumped over blazing haystacks testing
their limits of strength and endurance.
With so many potential dangers St John
Ambulance West Midlands' presence allowed participants to have fun
while undertaking these intense challenges in a controlled
environment.
Preparation
To assure that the day would be as safe as
possible St John Ambulance had prepared:
- approximately 150
volunteers;
- cycle responders;
- a field hospital with
seven beds;
- doctors ready on site;
and
- nine vehicles.
Alongside standard ambulances there were
five 4x4 vehicles able to reach
casualties in muddy terrain. To further increase the reach the West
Midlands team used qualified cycle responders who
can quickly get to areas of the course where vehicles may not have
access.
Delivering first aid at Tough Guy is never an easy duty. With so many potentially dangerous obstacles we need to undertake all safety precautions possible. Our new command control unit has exceeded our expectations for communicating to our first aiders and will be used at events all around the West Midlands.
Glen Curry
Event Duty Manager
Also, the
new
command control unit had been field tested for the first
time that day allowing for onsite radio communication. The new
equipment worked flawlessly assuring effective coordination of
first aiders around the
150 acre course.
With obstacles entitled Tire Torture, Fiery
Holes and The Swamp, the West Midlands team took part in a
pre-event training course for such extreme cases
as:
- Exhaustion
- Broken limbs
- Burns
- Hypothermia
- Drowning.
Results
Thankfully, there were only 68
injuries, which compared to last summer’s 120, was a
relief for the team who set up for the event at
8am and left at 6pm. Only one
male patient had been transferred to New Cross hospital for an
x-ray and further assessment for an ankle injury.
Most injuries included cramps, cuts,
grazes, sprains and strains, which were
treated on site. In the majority of instances, the
participants returned to finish the course after treatment.