TT teamwork pays off: Medical teams drafted in from England and Wales to keep TT goers safe

Ambulance crews from England and Wales were drafted in to support medical teams on the Isle of Man during the TT racing fortnight, allowing them to care for the thousands of additional visitors to the island from across the globe.

“It’s just a number game,” Head of the Ambulance Service at Manx Care, Will Bellamy told MCN. “More population, more different people – you’re going to see more different conditions and we just need to make sure that we’re prepared for that.

“I’m really proud to lead the team – knowing that if anything does happen, we’re there to look after you and provide exceptional care.”

Six paramedics out of more than 150 applicants were selected from the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust to come to the island, thanks to a mutual aid agreement, to provide care to Manx residents and visitors. A program that began at TT 2022, they were joined for the first time this year by Critical Care Paramedics from the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).

The GNASS team offer airborne support to the Isle of Man throughout the year, however operated a road-based fast response vehicle during the TT – providing support to Manx paramedics by attending the most critically ill and injured patients, outside of the racers.

“Not only is it just riders that come off and hurt themselves, but members of the public are involved, or tourists come to the island and have accidents,” Head of Operations at GNASS, Lee Salmon told MCN. “They see Conor Cummins and Dom Herbertson flying round the course and think ‘I can do that’ and then they go ‘oh, I can’t do that.’

“It’s that split second and the consequences are often disastrous, so it’s giving those people that high quality level of cover in conjunction with the ambulance service, in conjunction with the Welsh Paramedic support team.”

He continued: “If we can stop the dying process in the first hour then people have a greater opportunity to recover and our service exists essentially to focus on that hour, so we need to be on scene quickly.”

Getting to certain parts of the island during racing to provide this care has its challenges. For example, to get to the bus station in Ramsey, crews must drive to the bridge over the track, walk over, and access a key safe on a wall that gives them access to a car on the other side. 

Despite this, staff say they have enjoyed the event, with Welsh Paramedic Operations Manager, Dorian James adding: “I’d like to come back next year. It’s been really good, and everyone has welcomed us into the Isle of Man family, and we really feel part of a team.”

He continued: “All my staff have really enjoyed it. It’s a different way of working, but there’s been no negativity at all.”

Support the GNAAS team

If you’d like to support GNAAS, who require £7.7million annually to run and are not NHS funded, the team organise a bike night on the third Thursday of the month at Progress House, Urlay Nook, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees. Visit the GNAAS website for more.