Another Lerderderg Rescue

[Snowzone]

Yet another Lerderderg Rescue and a tough one for rescuers as those hills are steep to walk up at the best of times let alone trying to lug a stretcher up. Those SES workers and paramedics etc. that were involved in extracting this woman deserve a 'Well done!'

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/0 ... oman-found

[axcarmil]

My husband and I were the ‘campers’ and I thought I’d share our experience. It has been interesting being closely involved in this incident and then watching how the facts are misreported to create ‘news’. However, even more fascinating was observing how the costs of the evacuation were explicitly considered by the rescuers (on the ground and those involved remotely) and how minimizing cost influenced how the woman was evacuated. It is important to stress, that this woman did not have any life threatening injuries or was in need of urgent medical attention for physical injuries. If this had been the case, the discussion of costs would (I hope) not have come into play. The logistics were challenging, to say the least, and the woman was not mentally capable of walking out. To the extent possible, the labour effort was outsourced to SES volunteers, who costs are not directly born by government funded rescuers (i.e., police and ambulance). Whilst it is great that the police and ambulance can call on generous and highly skilled volunteers in these situations, an important implication for future funding is that the ‘true’ costs of evacuations are not known. To the extent that past funds influence future budget allocation, I am concerned that increasing reliance on SES volunteers leads to a vicious cycle of underfunding.

For those interested, below is an account of our day and how the events unfolded. I apologise that it is so long, but to me the details are what make it interesting. If you are inclined, you could play a game of spot the difference between my account and the media reports (some of which also differ). In addition to the one reported by Snowzone (i.e., http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/0 ... oman-found), another report can be found at:
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national ... orest.html

We’d had a great day walking in Lerderderg. We’d gone to see how the recent rain had impacted the river. We were there a few weeks ago, and the river was drying out, but it is now flowing again, and there were some great clear deep pools. I wouldn’t often say Lerderderg looked pretty, but some parts of it did on Saturday, and the recent rain meant it had that ‘fresh’ bush smell. We’d walked along the Hogan track for about 6 klms. Not a pretty part of the park, and a very boring walk, but it makes the central part of the park easily accessible. Not far before the end of the fire trail, we headed left off the track along a spur to the waterfall on The Old River (which is more of a creek, than a river). As we reached the creek, the bank is very steep and we had to slide down in a few places. We had lunch at the creek, and decided to go for a walk up the creek. When then walked down the creek and shortly reached the waterfall. There was a trickle of water at the falls. The pool below was very full. At this point, we either had to swim or climb over some cliffs to get through. We selected the later, and climbed up and over a cliff. It was a little tricky with a heavy pack, but manageable. We were carrying heavy packs to represent the weight we’d start a 4-5 day walk with (for practice). I’d packed luxuries, like a bottle of wine, chairs, but not a camera. I was regretting not being able to take any pictures. The pools of water were very clear and looked lovely. We then walked along the old river to reach where it flows into the Lerderderg River, which is just near the end of the Bears Head Range Track. We then walked up the river to our intended camp at the end of the Hogan Track, opposite the start of the Ah Kow track. As there was a lot of water in the river, the pace was slow going, with several crossings, scrub bashing (against the flow of the river ), and some rock scrambling. It was also getting hot and the sun was out. As I said before, we were carrying heavy packs purposefully, so we were both exhausted. It had been a long, but great day. We had talked about how good it was to get away so close to Melbourne and not see another person. We hoped it would continue.

After a refreshing swim at the deep pool near the camp site, a bottle of wine and a nice dinner, we decided to go to bed at 7.30pm. Within about five minutes, we thought we heard someone yelling, but weren’t sure. We then listened intently, and heard what sounded like three blows of a whistle, but we still weren’t 100% sure. We looked at each other and thought oh no, we were physically spent, but got up, called out (not sure why, but we didn’t think to use our whistle as a reply, it just never crossed out minds), we walked a short way down the river in opposite directions and called out, neither of us saw or heard anything else. We met back at the camp and thought maybe it was a weird bird screech, but just in case, we decided to sit around for a while. At about 8pm, we heard three whistles again. Because we were no longer in the tent, we now had a clear idea of the direction. My husband went for a walk further up the creek. This time he found the woman. She was sitting on the other side of the river. He crossed the river and helped her across. She claimed she had been in the bush for three or four days, had no food, no shoes, and her wallet and phone had been stolen. He came back to me told me what was going on, and got a pair of shoes to take to her. Luckily, I had taken a stretchy shoe for around the camp and she was able to squash her feet in. I said I’ll call 000. Being at the river I had no mobile reception and had to walk up about 300m before I got reliable reception. After three or four attempts of calling 000, I eventually got through without dropping out. In the rush up the hill, I had forgotten to take the map and I couldn’t for the life of me remember the LER emergency marker number. But I was able to (I thought) clearly tell them I was at the end of the Hogan Track, at the Lerderderg River, where the Hogan and Ah Kow tracks intersect. I asked if the operator had a map, and she did. I believed she understood exactly where we were. (It was later to unfold that this was not the case. I do wonder why parks Victoria have most of the emergency markers at points where there is no mobile access. Why not place them up the hill where someone would need to walk to get mobile access?). It was getting dark, there was only about 15 minutes of light left, so I said I was going back down to the campsite and we would have no mobile reception. I told the operator we would make some light at the camp and be as visible as possible. I then ran back down the hill.

As I got back, my husband and the woman arrived at the camp. All of this had taken about 30-45 minutes. The woman was not in a fit state. She was struggling to walk and hold herself up. I immediately offered water, but she refused the offer and said she had water. She was found at the edge of the river, and as the river was flowing extremely well there was plenty of water; there was no reason to question that she had not been drinking the water. I made her a saline drink (I’ve linked to it because I also recommend this drink – we find it very refreshing when walking on a hot day http://www.mckenziesfoods.com.au/produc ... uit_Saline), offered her some chocolate and nuts and made her a cup of tea. We’d eaten our food and besides the chocolate and nuts, the only other food we had left was some muesli to eat before walking out in the morning (at this point I decided not to offer in case we needed it in the morning. We gave her an emergency blanket, one of our chairs (we’d carried in some Helinox chairs), and lit a fire to keep her warm. The woman was much larger than I or my husband, and none of our clothes would have fitted her. Although she had no shoes when my husband found her, her feet didn’t look that cut up. I suspect at some point not long before we found her she must have had some shoes on. At about 1am, we’d come to the conclusion that the emergency services weren’t coming until light as we’d heard nothing. The women had lied down on her pack and blanket and was asleep near the fire. My husband and I decided we’d take it in turns to rest, while the other one kept the fire going. Keeping the fire going was becoming a more difficult task as we were running out of wood that was easily accessible. Eventually, we had to burn some of the logs that have been used as seats around the campfire.

At about 2am, we heard someone yell out. We responded, but heard nothing. Then the police helicopter flew over. We put on a torch, lit up the woman, my husband put on some dry leaves to flare up the fire, and we sort of waved our arms around. Later, the police told us that at first the helicopter crew thought we were just ordinary campers. Apparently, we didn’t waive our arms enough! The helicopter circled overhead and about 30 minutes later we saw some torches coming down the hill. A police officer, two paramedics and a ranger arrived. Apparently they had been looking in some of the other tracks (i.e., Hogan No 1, No 2, etc -I really regretted not taking the LER number with me when I phoned). The police officer also told me I should have used the PLB! I said no, it wasn’t a life threatening emergency and I had been able to phone and give what I thought were very clear directions. There is only one Hogan Track that ends on the Lerderderg River and intersects with the Ah Kow track (for those interested the LER number is 514).

The paramedics assessed the woman as being slightly dehydrated, but incapable (physically and mentally) of walking out. (Earlier in the night she had been talking to us and she seemed to know the park quite well and had talked about some of the different tracks with familiarity that indicated she had walked some of them at some point.) After assessing that she had no life threatening injuries, the decision making turned around to how they were going to evacuate her. We were camped in a small clearing and although there was tree canopy close by, immediately above the camp ground is relatively clear and the river has some reasonable large clearings. From what I understood of the discussions, the issue to use the helicopter and winch her out was around cost rather than physical feasibility. Of course, we could only hear part of the conversation, and the pilot could have indicated otherwise. The decision to not use a helicopter was made remotely. At some point the decision was made to call in the SES. What struck me was that a lot of the talk about the labour to use was around resourcing volunteers (i.e., free labour). There was also a lot of discussion around when to do this, and whether they should wait until morning. Around this point, the decision was made for the ranger and one of the paramedics to walk back out and meet the SES. The MICA paramedic and police officer who stayed both ended up having to work significant overtime, essentially minding someone. My husband and I went to bed and tried to sleep. There was a lot of talking, lights flashing, etc, so it was difficult to sleep, but we dozed lightly. In the early hours of the morning while it was still dark, two SES volunteers walked down with some welfare supplies (food, blankets, etc).

Because of the steepness of the terrain, and the woman’s weight, it was decided that at least 20 fit volunteers were required. However, there seemed to be difficulty recruiting this many volunteers. Along with the SES volunteers they could get, the CFA, a couple more paramedics and search and rescue police officers were eventually brought in to get the required number to safely perform the evacuation. At all times, which was good to hear, the focus was on ensuring the safety of those involved. The additional rescuers turned up at about 9.30am. It was a very slow going operation. The track is steep, and has several parts of loose shale that make it slippery and difficult to get and hold your own footing. Working as a team carrying a heavy weight would have been very onerous. We offered to stay at the campsite, put out the fire (which took a while as they had kept it burning all night) and collect and remove the rubbish, etc, so the rescuers could focus on getting out. By this stage the media were around, including a helicopter. After about an hour and half, we though they must be close to the top so decided to walk up the track. (You can’t see the top from the campsite). The going was obviously very slow, and they still hadn’t reached the beginning of the fire trail, but as they had taken a different less rocky path to use the winch when we got close to them we were able to keep walking out along the track without getting in their way. The media asked my husband if we were the campers who had found her, he said no we were just out walking and were surprised by all this activity and noise. On our walk out each of the rescuers as they drove out stoped and spoke to us, warning us that the media wanted to talk to us, but we said we didn’t want to be identified. The SES told us that we had been pointed out to the media as the two campers, and they were not too far behind them. They offered us a lift out, but we said we would walk – we walked into the bush and off track until we knew the media had left.

As I said at the outset the misreporting has been very interesting. For those that have read the report above and seen the media reporting, a few of the reports that don’t match the facts include:
(1) The woman saw a campfire and stumbled across some campers.
No. She was blowing a whistle and we located her. We lit the campfire after we brought her back to keep her warm and make our site visible.

(2) She had no water.
No. She had a water bottle and was found near a river with flowing water. She told us she had been drinking from it, and declined an offer of water, but gratefully had the saline drink and a cup of tea.

(3) She had a sleeping bag. But it was wet.
Not that we are aware of. No sleeping bag was sighted, nor was it mentioned in our hearing. She did however repeat several times she had left home prepared and her phone, wallet and shoes had been stolen. She was carrying a day pack. It would have fitted a small sleeping bag, but not much else. She did not have warm clothing.
(4) The tree canopy restricted winching her out.
I can’t say definitely, but this was not the reasoning we were hearing.

(5) A police officer and paramedic hiked in overnight.
Yes, but so did another paramedic, two SES volunteers, and a parks ranger.

(6) The track is not really defined.
No, the track is clear. They went off track as this was easier to navigate and use the winch.

(7) She may have fallen into the river after becoming disoriented.
She said that she may have fallen over and hit her head, but there was no mention of the river, no physical evidence of sustaining a hit to the head and when we found her she was not wet.

Witnessing how this event unfolded was an interesting experience and it highlights how lucky we are to live in a country that can dedicate resources to rescuing a person with mental health problems. All of the rescuers did a wonderful job in getting the woman out of the park, and deserve a big thank you. However, it also makes me wonder if sufficient support services were in place in the community if these events could be avoided, or at least reduced. It was only about six weeks ago that a similar event occurred at the same park (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-07/e ... ys/5949462). Talking to the rescuers, it is apparent that these events happen relatively frequently. Most of the people rescued are not ‘lost’ as reported in the media, they are injured (physically or more commonly mentally). I am also concerned that the park is being represented as a dangerous and treacherous place. It is a rough park, there is no denying that, but for a well prepared walker it is not dangerous or treacherous. It’s closeness to Melbourne combined with it roughness are what appeal to us. Within an hour’s drive of Melbourne, we can go off track, explore and very rarely see anyone.

[Strider]

What a mess that reporting was!

Not to speak too loudly from the sidelines, though I will agree that you should have activated your PLB to assist with being located - they were already looking for you so by not doing could only prolong the search effort.

[Moondog55]

That sounds much more like "Real Life" than the news report/
I totally agree about the use of volunteers to save the govern-a-mint money, it's one of the reasons people will stop volunteering, they hate being treated like free or "Slave" labour
At least she had a whistle and she was lucky to have had some decent people [ yourselves] there to help her

[vicrev]

Great report ,Axcarmil,congratulations on rising to the occasion,lots of commonsense .....why can't the media just report things as they are ????? ......

[north-north-west]

.....why can't the media just report things as they are ?????

Given that axcarmil & co declined to be interviewed (which I entirely agree with, and would have done the same) it is not really all that fair to blame the media for not the getting the full story.

Thanks for the report. These things are always interesting to hear from those directly involved.

[Earwig]

Thanks for ther report, and well done dealing with a challenging situation.

I was interested by you comment “I do wonder why parks Victoria have most of the emergency markers at points where there is no mobile access. Why not place them up the hill where someone would need to walk to get mobile access?”. I consider them a bit of a waste, especially as they have a cryptic location reference (LER237 is where?). Given the number of hikers, 4WDs etc. (and cameras and phones) with GPS capabilites it should be easy (and I’d think much better) to provide an accurate grid reference of your exact location rather than a reference to a position that may be some distance away. I also believe that each park sign should have a GPS map reference included on it. People could use it to report their location if needed (to authorities, to the family back home ...) or just to find themselves on the map.

[vicrev]

If the media have not got the full facts,why make it up ?...Journalism at its worst,happening all the time......

[neilmny]

If the media have not got the full facts,why make it up ?...Journalism at its worst,happening all the time......

News is no longer news, it rarely fact, mostly propaganda or sensationalised rubbish about nothing, it is an opportunity to make people "look"
and in the process have those people exposed to the plethora of advertisments that actually make money for them.

[Snowzone]

Thankyou for such a detailed report Axcarmil. It's always good to hear things 'firsthand' as this is part of the reason that events are reported badly, often from second or third hand info that may have been dramatised. Regardless of why the SES was used I still think they did a fantastic job in stretchering the woman out. I know this area and it is *&%$#! STEEP.

Well done on everything you did to help this woman. Do you know where she actually started her walk from? It also concerns me a little that she says she was robbed as the area you were in is a little more remote and you would not have the usual yobbo element around.

It sounds like you had a great walk prior to having it interupted, I hope your next walk isn't quite that eventful.

[dicky]

I think that the fact that the couple involved managed to alert emergency services and keep the casualty warm and safe till they arrived should allow everyone else to give them a break and not play the, you should have game - hindsite is a wonderful thing.
even with all the correct position info emergency calls related to remote areas are always taxing - street and house number, no, ok postcode ??????? this is not the fault of the operator, just a system set up for 99% of the calls they get ie on or near a road / property.
the activation of a plb is not always going to help, some have no gps, and could confuse matters if the call and the plb are not matched to the same incident. If you as a good Samaritan set of your plb on behalf of some one else in a non life threatening situation who then replaces the plb for you? obviously if the incident is life threatening then there is no question. If you have made contact and given good directions then this I think is ok - a plb is a last resort and as the poster stated to be used in life threating emergencies.

the markers give all the information that people have been talking about - to the emergency services. in an emergency people get confused and panic, the easier the code is to remember and translate to the operator the more effective it is, it does not have to mean anything to you that's not what it is there for. however on the markers is also a written description of where you are and the quickest way out, the marker numbers also are on the meridian map of the area so can be used for nav/ position conformation. The markers are positioned at track ends and junctions these allow you to
a. Track marker and conformation of location
b. Allow a double check for the position when the code is given
c. Allow you to work out the nearest marker ie we are about here and we can find the nearest marker/s you do not have to know your exact position to find the marker, if they were random or where phone signal was best then you would need to know exactly where you were to know where the nearest one was.

nice work on Stabilising your casualty, if she fell asleep it cant have been that bad by the fire huh? and to stay awake all night is a big effort.
you did what you thought was right at the time and she came out of it ok, the result was good - its a win, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, they weren't there.

lerderderg is getting a bit of a reputation, hopefully it keep the crowds away, last time I was there I saw at least 2 people!

[Snowzone]

I think that the fact that the couple involved managed to alert emergency services and keep the casualty warm and safe till they arrived should allow everyone else to give them a break and not play the, you should have game - hindsite is a wonderful thing.
nice work on Stabilising your casualty, if she fell asleep it cant have been that bad by the fire huh? and to stay awake all night is a big effort.
you did what you thought was right at the time and she came out of it ok, the result was good - its a win, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, they weren't there.

lerderderg is getting a bit of a reputation, hopefully it keep the crowds away, last time I was there I saw at least 2 people!

Umm, maybe you're referring to elsewhere but I hadn't noticed anyone giving Axcarmil a hard time. Everyone here appreciates that she has given a first hand account.

[axcarmil]

Thanks for your comments. I've found this forum to be very useful and I thought there would people here would may be interested in an account of the event. Writing the account enabled me to reflect on it. Hearing what other people would do is interesting. I hope never be in a similar situation again, but if I was I would try to ensure even more carefully that our location is clearly understood. I truely thought it was. Having had a couple days to reflect on it, if presented with the exact same scenario I still wouldn't use the PLB, there was no evidence of even minor injuries that needed urgent medical treatment. This was reinforced when the paramedics arrived and assessed the woman as slightly dehydrated.

I totally agree, the SES and all of the people involved did a great job. I certainly wouldn't want to imply otherwise. This event highlighted to me the vital role that the SES play in our society and how reliant the paid emergency services are on being able to recruit these volunteers. The paid emergency services focus on costs is not a reflection on them personally. For cost minimisation to be so explicit in the decision making it must be embedded within their performance management system.

In terms of the track, the woman was not clear on what track she had come down. She told us she had been on the Blackwood Track. Based on some other details she gave about walking past some paddocks, and the direction we found her at from the end of the Hogan Track, we think she came down the McKenzie Track.

My husband and I were very suprised about the claim her wallet and phone was stolen. We think it is highly unlikely. She didn't say anything about by who or when. We have no evidence, but I suspect that if she did bring a wallet and phone into the park, she left it somewhere. We go into the middle of the park reasonably frequently and very rarely see any walkers, and the motorbike riders on the fire trails rarely stop. I've never encountered anything in the park that would suggest to me there is a risk of theft. This is not to say it didn't happen, or doesn't happem. It very well may have, and if it did it is very concerning.

In terms of the media reporting, they had allocated significant resources on getting a story. There were reporters, camera crew and helicopters flying around. They were going to tell a story no matter what. We didn't stop and clarify what had happened, and the emergency services personnel interviewed were not the ones who were there overnight and based on what I saw in the reports, they did not have the full story at the point of the interview. I was more amused by the media missreporting than anything else.

[Strider]

I don't think the point of activating the PLB would have been due to the [lack of] seriousness of the incident. More so to assist police in their search effort so that they could complete their search quickly and efficiently.

[Tortoise]

I don't think the point of activating the PLB would have been due to the [lack of] seriousness of the incident. More so to assist police in their search effort so that they could complete their search quickly and efficiently.

http://beacons.amsa.gov.au/distress-beacons.html#whatis
"A distress beacon is a small electronic device that, when activated in a life-threatening situation, assists rescue authorities in their search to locate those in distress."

i guess the discussion comes up regularly, but according to AMSA, it should only be activated in a life-threatening situation.
Others say that if it's going to be an evacuation, activate the PLB. That makes very clear sense to me if it's a few days' walk out and someone has broken their leg. But I hope I'd err on the side of using the mobile phone option if at all possible. if I thought of it, I'd mention that I had a PLB, didn't plan to set it off unless it became an apparently life-threatening situation.

Edit - Yes, (Hallu), I could go the wrong way with this approach. There's going to be obvious incidents both ends of the spectrum, and a lot less obvious stuff between them. I did so much of my walking pre-PLB, and have had the life-threatening bit drummed in. I'm very glad someone who wanted to call the helicopter for my sprained ankle was outvoted. But often enough it wouldn't be that simple.

[Hallu]

Well done saving that woman. I think it was a life threatening situation, because it's hard assessing what's wrong with someone you find like that. She could have hit her head and not remember it, and be bleeding in her brain without feeling it and with no outside signs. So I found a bit weird to not activate the PLB because your judgement said it wasn't life threatening. With a person in such a confuse state, better safe than sorry I think, no one would have blamed you for activating it, don't think "oh no they're gonna school me if I activate it". I was also appalled by the rescuers discussing the cost of using the helicopter to bring her back to the hospital... The search and rescue helicopter was already there, I don't understand how it could have cost so much more money to fly her to a hospital ? Oh and I hope they'll find the absolute dirtbag who stole that woman's wallet and phone, putting her in a life-threatening situation. She could have died, so please catch the punk.

[walkerchris77]

I probably would have activated a plb. Maybe the lady seemed ok but whos to know if she may have had internal injuries or something else.

[Strider]

I think some of you are being too black and white on the issue of whether to activate the PLB or not. Anything to assist Police with the search will be beneficial - injuries or no injuries.

[Earwig]

Axcarmil had spoken with 000 and provided an accurate location. In that situation I wouldn't have set off a PLB either because I don't think it would've added anything (except maybe some confusion - is this another incident in that area or the same one?). If it wasn't possoble to get phone contact then the PLB would be an option. I think Axcarmil and her husband did very well.

[Strider]

Axcarmil had spoken with 000 and provided an accurate location. In that situation I wouldn't have set off a PLB either because I don't think it would've added anything (except maybe some confusion - is this another incident in that area or the same one?). If it wasn't possoble to get phone contact then the PLB would be an option. I think Axcarmil and her husband did very well.

I am not criticising. Just being understanding of why the Police who attended said the PLB should have been activated.

[Hallu]

Well evidently the woman on the other end of the phone organizing the rescue was a bit in over her head and should have asked herself for the PLB to be activated.

[CaptainC]

Interesting to read your comments about media reporting. I remember the American science fiction writer Robert Heinlein saying that several times in his life he had been present when a major news story happened. He said that in all cases what was reported in the newspapers was quite different from what he saw.

[THREEPOINT]

I don't think I would have set off a PLB either if I'd been able to contact 000 and the woman seemed to be physically OK.

Whether that's right or not, though, I don't know. Surely rather than us debating it, doesn't anyone here have a contact within Search and rescue? It would be handy to know what they would prefer we did in this sort of situation.....

[johnw]

I don't think I would have set off a PLB either if I'd been able to contact 000 and the woman seemed to be physically OK.

Whether that's right or not, though, I don't know. Surely rather than us debating it, doesn't anyone here have a contact within Search and rescue? It would be handy to know what they would prefer we did in this sort of situation.....

I totally agree with and congratulate axcarmil's actions but was struggling to remember why I thought I would also not have activated a PLB in the circumstances described. I found it - from the AMSA web site http://beacons.amsa.gov.au/usage.html#whenshould:

When should a distress beacon be
used?
Distress beacons should only be used when there
is a threat of grave and imminent danger. In the
event of an emergency, communication should first
be attempted with others close by using radios,
phones and other signalling devices. Mobile phones
can be used but should not be relied upon as they
can be out of range, batteries run low or become
water-damaged.

I suggest the relevant authorities need to put their heads together on this and provide a consistent message. It's disappointing that the police in this case gave contradictory advice to what is published as appropriate by the central search and rescue authority.

[dinna89]

Interesting to read your comments about media reporting. I remember the American science fiction writer Robert Heinlein saying that several times in his life he had been present when a major news story happened. He said that in all cases what was reported in the newspapers was quite different from what he saw.

I work for a major engineering firm, and have previously worked for the state railways. Whenever I see media reporting on something where I have inside knowledge, the media almost always takes a quote out of context or latches onto an insignificant comment.

Regarding the PLB, I also think that I wouldn't have used it, and trusted that the instructions given to 000 wouldn't get lost in the chinese whispers. I think it's pretty poor that the location description wasn't given verbatim to the SAR teams. I also think that in the case of a remote rescue, the onus is on the 000 operator to enquire whether there is a PLB, and request it to be activated if they think it is necessary.

[Rosseth]

Both the SES and CFA are used in these situations due to their role as rescue. Ambulance Victoria are not rescue, and will refer calls to one of these two agencies (who are competitive when it comes to who gets the rescue as the more rescues they do the more funding they get). Ambulance Victoria are an emergency service, but not a rescue agency, but do work with rescue agencies. When you call 000, you are not speaking to Paramedics or Ambulance Victoria, but ESTA (Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority), who are a separate company.

Paramedics are not longer allowed to hike in at Lederderg as far as I'm aware, as there is no safe way to carry equipment and many have sustained career jeopardising injuries as a result of carrying multiple bags (close to 30kg) along various tracks. Bacchus Marsh AV branch has a 4WD but not all are trained in 4WD use.

[GPSGuided]

Very interesting report Axcarmil! Thank you and well done on being a good citizen.

My thoughts are,

- A very strange case. Something weird with the woman's claim of theft amongst others. Did she have some kind of psychological issue or others whilst out? Guess we'll never know the truth but Axcarmil did all that's appropriate.

- I agree also that there's no clear indication for PLB activation as Axcarmil knew their location and the woman was not threatened in any way, and they had mobile communication within a reasonable distance. I can also understand the rescuer's thinking, could just be a top of the head line, that a pin point location would have saved some work on their end. Unfortunately the 000 staff didn't relay adequate information and that Axcarmil couldn't provide a grid reference, but that's life. If there was a GPS coordinate and was passed onto the 000 operator, then the rescuers wouldn't have commented on the PLB.

- Media reports. Well, doesn't surprise me at all, especially on this kind of matters where junior reporters are out to prove their ability to generate page clicks.

[Xplora]

Although this is an old thread it is a good thing to read and revise. I should start by thanking axcarmil for her thorough ‘warts and all’ rendition of the circumstance. All valuable information that would be most helpful to others. Not everyone has emergency management training or face emergency situations often if at all so when thrust into these situations they have to do the best they can. In this case I feel they acted appropriately and given the woman was evacuated safely they can now sit down with hindsight evaluate their response so should they be involved in another emergency the lessons learned from this experience will prove invaluable.
I have had significant emergency management training and been involved in a large number of emergencies or critical situations, most through work but since retiring and travelling in remote areas we have fallen onto many others by chance. I have also had a significant involvement with the media and when pressed for the front page story I have told them to do what every other journo does and make it up. With the age of digital press they post stories fast and then do corrections later if important. The follow up story to this may not have been as exciting so it was canned. I couldn’t care what is reported because I know most of it is less than factual.
Regarding PLB’s – the media latch onto these because mistakenly they believe them to be a panacea to aid all rescues. As a result many people start to believe they should be used as a first resort instead of a last. This idea is one that should not be perpetuated for any reason as costs would not doubt increase due to inappropriate activation. A group in the Blue Mtns were overdue because of a minor injury and they were able to make contact with the outside via SMS. They were experienced and had sufficient clothing and food for an overnight stay. All was good but someone hit the panic button and a full scale search was started. They were criticised in the media for the cost and for not having a PLB to guide searchers but in fact there was not need and they all walked out on their own the next day. For the instance which started this thread there was no need to activate a PLB contrary to the comment from the Police officer attending who was probably more concerned about the inconvenience caused to him because good directions were not relayed. I would have stood my ground on that one with him but that is just me.
We are fortunate to have mobile coverage in many areas (or within a reasonable walk/drive) and it has greater benefit in that you can give more than just location so the extent of the response can be managed. It ensures a response much quicker and more appropriate than a PLB. Unfortunately coverage is not always at the desired location so the great lesson learned is to get all the information needed before you send someone to call. (this is not a criticism of axcarmil and I applaud her for being so honest and open) Even with that I can say from more than one instance the people on the other end of the phone stuff up. I have given exact GPS coordinates for a medical emergency requiring a helicopter evacuation and it was not relayed. Instead another person from a drunken campsite called and gave a vague and different location which was used instead of mine. The helicopter paramedic was not happy when I told him. I must also say on the last occasion they were fantastic. If you have to go away from the emergency location to call then it is important to know the first person you speak to is not usually the one coordinating the response. You will almost always receive a call back from someone else who will be more switched on. If you can, you should wait for that call before leaving phone service and stay if directed unless not practical. On the instance I quoted I had to travel a distance to get phone reception and leave my partner with the patient and a bunch of drunks so I trusted the initial operator to relay the detailed information and got back to protect my partner. If you have to go back then consider another trip to phone reception if the situation allows. You will no doubt have a message or two and the information transfer will help everyone. If someone can manage the situation it is best you stay in phone reception and tell those remaining that you may be a while because you are the person on the ground who will be directly assisting the rescue. They will worry less about you not coming back. Remember that lack of information breeds uncertainty which can alter judgement and decisions.
While on the subject of phones, after reading another thread here about all the apps you can download, some of which may be helpful, you should bear in mind if your phone is your primary communication source in an emergency then it is better switched off and not played with unless you have a charging source. The Hon Tim Holding would be able to contest to that. Still can’t figure out why he was air lifted from Bright Hospital to Melbourne with a sprained ankle. We could have fallen onto that one easily as well but canned the trip at Harrietville due to weather.
Although you may be able to categorise, no two situations will be the same so your response will be based on experience, knowledge and the situation itself. I would suggest everyone should have a plan which can be modified to the circumstance so when something happens you can fall back on the plan. This may help take away the panic. Take a few minutes longer if possible to ensure you have all the information required to pass on as this can save time on the other end.
Again I stress, none of this should be interpreted as criticism of axcarmil and her husband using hindsight. They acted appropriately and effected a rescue but after every emergency situation there is a debrief which is a learning process and in turn this could assist others.