Linbrooke Services has been putting most of its staff through an ambitious in-house first aid, trauma and recovery course.
TheSheffield-basedcompany hired former Foreign Legion paratrooper and Royal Army Medical Corps specialist, John Byrne to run the course. The object is to ensure Linbrooke staff have the requisite skills and confidence to help prolong life in an emergency situation, especially when working in remote areas.
Getting access to remote parts of therailway isalwaysachallenge.It becomes life threatening when a medical team cannot get in to evacuate the injured. Often darkness and distance further delay first responders and paramedics. The programme is designed to increase the chances of survival of anyone injured or hurt out on the infrastructure.
Military
Linbrooke Services deliver turnkey design build and maintenance of telecommunications, power and signallingservicestotheworld’s leading railway systems including Network Rail, TfGM (Manchester Metrolink) and Nexus. Over 60% of Linbrooke staff have served in the military. The managing director, Lee Hallam, is a former Royal Marine.
Linbrooke makes a virtue of recruiting former services personnel.
Training takes places on the real railway – albeit non-operational sidings – in all weathers. Training methods and styles used are similar to those in the Armed Forces. Resources include liquid latex (blood) andlacerationbloodpumps to simulate blood loss and teach staff how to control bleeding.
Star of the show is Resuscitation Annie, a dummy on which course delegates practice CPR. Further training is given on stretcher bearing.
An essential part of army endurance training, this enables staff to assist paramedics with carrying stretcher and patient to the nearest access point, evacuation and safety. To add extra realism actors apply special effect injuries and prosthetics.
Course delegates undertake role- play scenarios under the spirited directionofMrByrne.Gonearethe days of ‘March or Die.’ Thanks to John Byrne and Lee Hallam it is more a case of ‘Train Hard, Fight Easy.’ Staff feed back has been good and the course will be expanded to include OHLE next year.
