{"id":252304,"date":"2020-02-06T13:57:32","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T03:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=252304"},"modified":"2020-07-13T10:37:15","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T00:37:15","slug":"critical-care-doctors-put-to-the-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/02\/06\/critical-care-doctors-put-to-the-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Critical Care Doctors Put To The Test"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Dr Sarah Louden … one of the new Critical Care doctors who will be working on RACQ LifeFlight helicopters
(Photo: RACQ LifeFlight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

February 6, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

A new Critical Care Doctor is starting work with\u00a0RACQ LifeFlight Rescue in Toowoomba, almost 20 years after the helicopter service helped save her sister\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Dr Sarah Louden said her younger sibling was critically injured when she fell 10-15 metres.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe helicopter just happened to be in the air already, when they were tasked,” Dr Louden said.<\/p>\n

“About 10 minutes later they landed, packaged her up and got her quickly down to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, where she had emergency surgery for many hours overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were really instrumental in saving her life, so I am eternally grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Sarah Louden, a registrar at Toowoomba Hospital’s Emergency Department, said she never imagined she would end up becoming a member of\u00a0a crew flying to people\u2019s rescue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing to now be able to come and work for the same organisation that saved her life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Learning how to dangle safely underneath a helicopter\u00a0 (Photo: RACQ LifeFlight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr Louden is one of four new retrieval registrars who will be taking off from Toowoomba’s Clive Berghofer LifeFlight Centre.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They joined 24\u00a0other medical recruits who will be starting at other aeromedical bases around Queensland for an intensive week of training, including how to winch patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a lot of them it is very fun, but it is very stressful. They\u2019re underneath a helicopter, they\u2019re hanging off a wire cable. So we just need to calm them down and help them follow the procedures they\u2019ve been given,\u201d RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Chief Aircrew Officer Simon Gray said.<\/p>\n

The recruits also have to learn how to safely make their way out of a helicopter … underwater.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we get them for Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) and the Emergency Breathing System component they\u2019re sort of all a bit nervous about it, which is to be expected,\u201d HUET manager Mick Dowling said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is daunting. They\u2019re strapped in a seatbelt, in a machine that\u2019s going upside down in the water, so we try to make them feel comfortable before going in.<\/p>\n

“The process is very easy to do, they\u2019re not going to be underwater for long, it\u2019s about 20 seconds maximum and we\u2019ve got safety divers there, as well as a lot of support staff making sure they\u2019re okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trainees underwent theory training and dry runs before they were first dunked underwater in the specially designed training cage.<\/p>\n

As their confidence built, they went through five more increasingly challenging scenarios including being turned upside down and blindfolded.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The instructors also took them through sea survival skills, such as how to use lifejackets and rafts.<\/p>\n

Their skills were then put to the test in a series of high-pressure scenarios, staged at the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service Whyte Island training facility.<\/p>\n

The mock emergencies included a car crash, a wild house party where a child became seriously unwell and an incident where someone had fallen in a ship\u2019s engine room.<\/p>\n

The scenes were brought to life with actors, costumes, props and sound effects to make them as realistic as possible.<\/p>\n

The majority of the doctors’ work\u00a0is performed\u00a0on behalf of Queensland Health, which committed\u00a0$235 million to a 10-year service agreement between LifeFlight and the State Government to\u00a0provide\u00a0Critical Care Doctors across the State in August last year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The trainees are loaded into a helicopter simulator and get ready …<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
… to be dunked\u00a0 … at least this time they weren’t blindfolded!\u00a0 (Photos: RACQ LifeFlight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new Critical Care Doctor is starting work with\u00a0RACQ LifeFlight Rescue in Toowoomba, almost 20 years after the helicopter service helped save her sister\u2019s life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":252310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[54],"yoast_head":"\nCritical Care Doctors Put To The Test - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new Critical Care Doctor is starting work with\u00a0RACQ LifeFlight Rescue in Toowoomba, almost 20 years after the helicopter service helped save her sister\u2019s life.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/02\/06\/critical-care-doctors-put-to-the-test\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Critical Care Doctors Put To The Test - 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