New Base Update
Photo by B Tyson
Completion of the contract to build the new base by Mathew Lee Joinery Ltd meant a formal hand over of keys by Matt to TL Duncan Buchanan and DTL Scott Thompson took place on the 7th of June. We still await installation of electric meter by EDF & Energetics. Blocks for initial internal work delivered and by the time of publication work should be under way. Tenders out for joinery work then electrics and plumbing work can be undertaken. Team members have been laying some concrete to support ACO drain that runs across the carpark at the edge of the tarmac to prevent damage before other outside work begins. Dave Neil, of Downham farm, has kindly offered to remove more excess soil free of charge. We still require funding for a heating system, solar panels, & battery storage all of which will lower running costs as recommended by energy consultants commissioned through Zero Waste Scotland.
Basic Life Support
Last month I wrote about the team’s exercise involving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Community response to cardiac arrest remains critical to saving lives and is an important part of UK government’s strategies to improving survival from cardiac arrest. Bystander (CPR) and use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) increase the chances of survival by two to four-fold.
With funds provided by Kelso’s Charity Begins at Home and Cornhill Community the team now have more mannequins for practice of CPR. The team would be happy to hear from any groups wishing a demonstration/practise of CPR, and training defibrillator to give confidence in this basic life support skill.
The charity Kelso Heartbeat have done a lot of Basic Life Support Training in and around the Kelso area as well as providing and maintaining defibrillators. Locations of locally situated defibrillators can be found on Kelso Heartbeat’s and Kelso Community’s Facebook pages or through the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Scottish Mountain Rescue 2022 Report
In 2022 740 people were assisted, with 90 (21%) of the people having been injured. Fractures made up 45% of the injuries. The incidents also included 21 deaths, 11 of them mountaineering. The most common causes for a mountaineering incident are slips/trips, getting lost, navigation errors, falls, medical, and being reported missing. BSARU attended 25 incidents involving a total of 1,485 hours of team members’ time.
Now we are into summer it is worth noting that mountain rescues accounted for 330 of the assists, 227 Hillwalking (Summer) and 92 Hillwalking (Winter) and 9 for other activities in the mountains. This was Scottish Mountain Rescue’s second busiest year with 2021 being its busiest.
