It's not often you get the chance to witness up close the amazing and life-saving work of our emergency services.
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On Thursday, a group of medical students from Australian National University did just that as a mock car crash scenario was played out on the Bega Showground.
On hand to show the students what happens during a response to an incident like this were members of the Bega Valley Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW Bega brigade, Volunteer Rescue Association, NSW Ambulance and South East Regional Hospital emergency department personnel.
Understandably, although planning to attend as well, local SES volunteers had other priorities this week.
The students were a mix of first years - 19 of them - six third-years and a fourth year student, all keen to see first-hand what it takes to respond to a emergency scenario, particularly if it was to occur in regional NSW.
It was also to gain knowledge of how the various emergency services work together.
This was the first time such a scenario had been hosted in Bega and no doubt a much more eye-opening affair than the usual annual visit to Bega, which has typically involved offering free blood pressure checks in the community and visiting aged care homes.
This year it was a two-car crash with multiple victims to attend to, and a related fire outbreak.
While one "motorist" looked rather worse for wear given it was a mannequin without a head, there were also several SERH staff playing the roles of motorists in various states of injury and shock.
Students were told how paramedics and others on scene triage patients to see who is in most need of assistance, in order to focus on priorities in the emergency situation. VRA volunteers and FRNSW personnel worked to access trapped passengers using the jaws of life and inflatable stabilisers under the vehicles. RFS members kept a close eye on the work with hoses at the ready. One of the firies was offering support to the two "injured" passengers after they were successfully removed from the vehicle while his colleagues worked to extricate the "unconscious" driver.
All the while thunder rumbled overhead as an afternoon storm crossed the district. But as ANU lecturer and SERH anaesthetist Nathan Oates pointed out to the students, it made the scenario all the more realistic.
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