PARAMEDICS came to the rescue of an elderly woman who had fallen down a flight of stairs at the back of her Toti home on Thursday, 17 December at about 11.54am.
Reports indicate the woman was climbing up the stairs when her legs gave in and she fell headfirst down the stairs.
“Paramedics found the patient had sustained serious injuries and had to be immobilised on a trauma board. However, the landscape of the property posed a serious problem. With tight corners and a winding staircase leading down to road level, it made it imposable to carry the patient down to the ambulance,” said Netcare 911 media liaison, Chris Botha.
“The Netcare 911 specialised rescue unit was called to assist to get the patient down the challenging terrain. This unit is run by a rescue specialist with over 20 years experience in vehicle extrication, working in confined spaces and high angle rescue as well as swift water rescue and is available 24-hours a day.
After the rescue officer immobilised the patient in a specialised ‘stokes’ basket, he set-up a rescue system to safely lower the patient down a terraced ledge of about five metres using a rescue rope and ladder.”
After much excitement and interest from bystanders, the patient was loaded safely into the ambulance and transported to a local hospital under the constant care of an advanced life support paramedic.
