MEDICAL ASPECTS OF THE WORK OF A MOORLAND RESCUE TEAM

Objective-To describe the work of a moorland rescue team and, in parti cular, the medical aspects of this work. Methods-A retrospective study of 25 years of callouts of the Dartmoor Rescue Group (DRG)-the mounta in rescue team (MRT) for Dartmoor. These were analysed by cause, year, month, day of the week, and time of day. Injuries and other medical p roblems in casualties are described. Results-276 callouts are describe d. The most common cause was searching for missing persons, but 62 cal louts were to known casualties. The most common medical problem was co ld exhaustion. The most common injuries were to the lower leg. However , a wide variety of other medical problems including heat exhaustion w as also seen. Conclusions-The Mountain Rescue Council represents MRTs in mountainous regions and those covering lower hills and moorland. It produces an annual report containing details of the incidents attende d by its affiliated teams. The work of the DRG is very different fi om that of the Mountain Rescue Council as a whole. Medical problems othe r than cold exhaustion and lower leg injuries are uncommon and moorlan d rescue teams do not need to equip themselves to treat other medical problems but in view of the wide variety of medical problems encounter ed a long way from a road, good first aid training of team members is essential.