When triaging an accident, especially on the TT Course, the highest priorities are rapid action & expert pre-hospital immediate care.

Two rescue helicopter ambulances are used during TT and MGP practice weeks and race days. They are both special ambulance-fit French Eurocopter twin Squirrels from Atlas Helicopters.

If an incident occurs around the course, the marshals at the scene immediately press the orange emergency button on their TETRA radio to alert the radio controller. The aircraft nearest the incident heads to the scene and a travelling marshal is also dispatched. The travelling marshal or medic at the scene assesses if the casualty needs to transferred to the hospital via helicopter. If the casualty does not need to be transferred the travelling marshal/medic issue a ‘stand down’ request to the race control and the helicopter returns to base.

Each aircraft carries a doctor, an A&E or Anaesthetic Consultant and a paramedic. Each helicopter has over £35,000 of medical equipment on board. Each helicopter carries a single casualty on a scoop stretchers to the left hand side of the pilot.

The aircraft flies the casualty to one of the hospital’s three helipads where they are met by one of the ambulances from the Hogg Motorsport Association. The patient is then unloaded and transported the short distance to the resuscitation room of Nobles’ Accident and Emergency department. The average time from when the casualty falls off to arriving in Hospital is under 20 minutes.

Equipment Carried

EQUIPMENT CARRIED IN EACH HELICOPTER AMBULANCE

First Response Bag which contains:

• Oral and nasopharyngeal airways
• Ventilation bag with oxygen reservoir and masks
• Portable multi-flow lightweight oxygen cylinders with 100% masks
• Numerous ambulance dressings, bandages, cervical splints and Celox bandages and granules
• Everything required for intubation including fibre optic laryngoscope.
• Laryngeal mask airways and iGels
• Chest drains
• Basic fluid IV infusion requirements
• Ring Cutter

Laerdal Suction Unit with Yankauer suction mounts and catheters.

Smiths Medical Pneupac VR1 automatic ventilator

Drugs Bag with a full range of IMS mini jet syringes, all emergency drugs including separate bags of RSI drugs

Burns Pack with Water-jel burns dressings, burn bags, burn dressings and towels, saline, Flamazine and Release dressings.

Each aircraft also carries:

• Entonox inhalational analgesia units
• 2 Loxley box splints
• Two bags of Velcro Fracstraps
• Spare Stifnek Select cervical splints and paediatric collar
• A Corpuls 3 monitor/defibrillator
• A pulse oximeter
• Disposable plastic zipped body bags
• 2 orthopaedic scoop stretchers, small pillows, red head rests and several sets of stretcher straps
• 10lbs of dry power fire extinguisher (to replace those used at an incident)
• TT Course Immediate Care NEW Rucksack (to replace those used at an incident)

EQUIPMENT CARRIED BY TRAVELLING MARSHALS

All the Travelling Marshals are trained in first aid, advanced airway techniques and scene management. Using TETRA radios, the marshals can also speak directly to the Duty Medical Officer in Race Control as well as the crew in the AirMed Helicopter to update them on the casualties condition.

Each Travelling Marshal carries:

• Latex free disposable gloves
• Two Guedel oropharyngeal airways, No 3 & 4
• Two Nasopharyngeal airways, No 6 & 8
• One resuscitation pocket mask
• One Stifneck Select cervical splint
• One pair 8″ Lister bandage scissors
• One pair of Tufcut scissors
• One scalpel blade and handle
• Two No. 4 Ambulance dressings
• Two 20cm x 20cm dressing pads
• One roll of 2.5cm Transpore tape
• One roll of 7.5cm Elastoplast
• One adult emergency foil blanket
• Two 10cm crepe bandages.
• Three triangular bandages.
• Six TRIGENE disinfectant wipes
• Plastic bag of assorted plasters with two large 10cm x 10cm Release dressings
• Two sachets of Sterets Unisept (chlorhexidine) (100mls each).
• Two sets of scoop stretcher restraining straps (to keep the riders arms and legs in)

Travelling Marshals can replace their equipment from the AirMed Helicopters, the Ambulances stationed around the course or at the TT Grandstand

A NOTICE CLARIFYING HELICOPTER FUNDING

For some motorcycle racing on the Isle of Man helicopter ambulances are used to evacuate casualties from the incident site to hospital. The helicopters are used at the TT in June and the Manx Grand Prix races in August. The funding for these helicopters is paid entirely by the Isle of Man Government.

There are no such funds/charities as the ‘TT Helicopter Fund’ nor ‘Isle of Man Helicopter Fund’

The medical and rescue equipment in the helicopters for ALL the above events is provided by “The Rob Vine Fund” Registered Charity 954 (Isle of Man). The Fund is also used to purchase all the, NEW for 2023, Immediate Care Rucksacks and scoop stretchers at over 130 marshalling locations around the TT and Billown courses. The ‘Rob Vine Fund’ also financially supports the Hogg Motorsport Association and its three ambulances.