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What did we get up to in the holiday period? For Coastguard Northern Region as a whole, December was the busiest month on record, with the Operations team logging nearly 16,000 trip reports – 1946 of them on New Year’s Eve alone!
Our unit was on the water on most days through the holiday break. Callouts covered the usual wide range of jump-starts, tows and bailouts. We also had a few medical incidents.
On one day in January, Hibiscus Rescue 1 was tasked to a charter boat off Takapuna, where a male passenger was reported to have chest pains and tingling arms. Having assessed the patient, our crew transferred him to the Coastguard rescue vessel, which then headed fast for the Marine Rescue Centre in Mechanics Bay. During the transit, he lost consciousness, and they deployed the on-board defibrillator.
Both of our vessels carry a defibrillator at all times, as well as oxygen and first aid equipment. A modern defib is easy to set up: simply press the ‘on’ button, and listen to the instructions on how to bare the patient’s chest and apply the pads. If the machine finds an irregular heartbeat, it gives the instruction to press the ‘shock’ button. No irregularity, no shock. (And contrary to the Hollywood myth, if there’s no pulse at all, only a ‘flat-line’, the defib will not shock; it’s time to use CPR instead.)
On this occasion the defib gave the instruction to shock, which was duly administered, reviving the patient. Once landed at the Marine Rescue Centre, he was handed over to Westpac paramedics to receive higher-level treatment, and we’ve since heard he made a full recovery.
It’s worth pointing out that, in such scenarios, the best way to summon assistance is to call Coastguard on VHF radio. This enables any other boats nearby, listening on the open radio channels, to pick up medical distress calls.
Experience has shown there’s a reasonably high chance of there being a doctor or paramedic on a boat nearby, who may be able to give first aid before a rescue vessel arrives on scene.
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