A volunteer band of riders has formed MotoMedics Queensland to act as first responders to motorcycle accidents while the injured wait for the ambulance to arrive.
They may be the last people you ever want to meet, but they will be at the Brisbane Bike Night tonight (Wednesday, October 5, 2016) at Harry’s Diner in Newmarket to answer your important questions.
MotoMedics will also unveil their new 2010 Yamaha FJR1300AF Rapid Response Vehicle which conducted preliminary tests at Mt Coot-tha and Mt Mee last weekend.
Former ambo Ryan Chase founded MotoMedics with Mitch Talbot and Jade McGuinness who have backgrounds in fire and rescue and paramedics. Together, they have a background in emergency services totalling more than 20 years.
Ryan believes there is a need for a first-responder service to fill in the waiting time between the crash and the arrival of the ambulance.
They will initially be stationed at the ready on weekends and public holidays on the popular riding roads around Mt Glorious and Mt Nebo, but hope to expand over time to other areas.
“Response times on the mountains for a Queensland Ambulance Asset can take time as they need to come from the Gap or Samford/Maleny,” he says.
“By placing ourselves already on the mountain we have the ability to proceed to an incident when QAS is responded but begin administering critical first-aid until an ambulance can get on scene.”
He says they may also attend crashes where they rider does not feel as though calling an ambulance is necessary because their injuries are minor.
“We can also attend these incidents and assist where it’s not advantageous to allocate QAS to non-life-threatening scenes,” he says.
“Of course this is a call the rider needs to make and we request 000 be called for any incident involving a bike and rider going down.”
MotoMedics Queensland is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded by the three avid riders and funded by donations at GoFundMe.
“Our original GoFundMe was for $500 to cover the cost of a critical care trauma bag and the contents required to fill it with gear,” Ryan says.
“We successfully raised $530 in just six days. Our second GoFundMe is sitting at $160 of a $2000 goal.”
Ryan says riders should always dial 000 first, then dial their Operational Duty Phone Contact on 0499544146.
They won’t break any speed limits and won’t be running lights or sirens, but when they arrive at the crash scene, they will activate emergency lighting for safety.
Rostered times and dates will be confirmed via their social media channels including Facebook and Twitter with constant updates on patrol days.
“We are aiming to continue the selfless, tireless and unremitting work of the late Dr John Hinds (Anaesthesiologist and Resuscitationist) who offered his incredible medical skills to the popular Ireland North West 200 and Isle Of Man TT,” Ryan says.
The three volunteers have all re-certified in Queensland with Advanced Senior First Aid and Advanced Resuscitation.
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