Highway heroes join the information superhighway

Unsung heroes of Wiltshire's highways have now joined the information superhighway - thanks to a new website sponsored by Mole Productions.

Swift Medics are a group of GPs and hospital doctors who provide emergency care at the scene of serious road traffic accidents, and other medical emergencies including falls from a height, serious burns and incidents where casualties are unconscious or trapped, during the first 60 minutes after an incident - the period during which treatment is considered vital for survival.

Supporting the paramedics of the Great Western Ambulance Service, and working on a voluntary basis, the nine doctors enjoy a 100 percent success rate in reaching the scene of accidents within 20 minutes.

They are often the first on the scene and are trained to manage the accident efforts of all the emergency response teams.

Anyone unlucky enough to be involved in a serious road traffic accident in Wiltshire, and who lives to tell the tale, may owe their lives to a Swift Medic; but they will probably never realise it, as the involvement of Swift Medics is rarely publicised.

Yet despite their vital role in saving lives, Swift Medics receive no funding from local or central government, health trusts, or the NHS.

The acronym Swift stands for South Wiltshire Intervention for Trauma, but over the past decade the organisation has grown to cover the whole county, and will also attend incidents across the county borders of Hampshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.

Chippenham-based GP Adam Brownhill, who shares the chairmanship of Swift Medics with Marlborough-based GP Jonathan Glover, said: "We attend a couple of calls a week, although that number could triple when a new automated alert system is activated. 

Last year we treated between 400 and 500 casualties."Drivers in Wiltshire are less likely to be involved in a road traffic accident than in almost any other county, yet those who are unlucky enough to be involved in an RTA are among the most likely to die in that accident.

"A speedy medical response is vital to keep casualties alive."Dr Glover said: "We travel to the scenes of accidents in our own cars, which are fitted with blue lights and sirens. All our medics receive training in managing major medical incidents and drive to police standards.

"The cost of training a new team member is around £10,000 with a further £3,000 per year for ongoing training, equipment and insurance - and all that has to be found through the generosity of the public in the form of donations.

"Our major vision is to provide 24/7 doctor coverage for Wiltshire - obviously such a provision will require funding, and we would like to talk to any potential corporate sponsors who wish to support this endeavour."

This year alone, Swift Medics needs to raise £3,800 for new equipment and drugs, including two defibrillators - the paddles that deliver an electrical charge to a stopped heart. 

Emergency driver training for one doctor, at a cost of £2,100, and refresher courses for five doctors at £700 per person are also needed.Recently, Swift Medics was registered as a charity. 

The team hopes the new web presence, a higher media profile and a major fundraising push will allow them to support the work of existing volunteers and recruit new ones.

The new website, which was built and is hosted by sponsors Mole Productions, will help raise the profile of Swift Medics, and provides visitors with an easy way to donate to the charity.

Members of the public are also able to read reports of accidents that Swift Medics attended.

Tim Ashton, a director of Mole Productions, said: "Swift Medics is a vital service for the county and the volunteers do an amazing job - they really are the unsung heroes of the highway." 

Visit the Swift Medics website at www.swiftmedics.net For more about Mole productions log on to www.moleproductions.net