A mock emergency rescue involving local emergency services, 26 medical students and Bombala High students will be held in Bombala on Wednesday, August 17.
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The idea for the rescue exercise came about after Bombala Fire and Rescue deputy captain Malcolm Lavender came across a Bombala Times article from November 1986 about a mock up exercise held between emergency services at that time.
“It has been nearly 30 years since local firefighters, police and ambulance got together and did a collaborative inter-agency emergency exercise,” acting deputy captain Lavender said.
“Not long after I came across the article in the Times I discovered a pile of photos from the exercise in a bottom drawer at the station and the idea for another emergency exercise was born.”
Although it’s not quite 30 years since the first emergency exercise took place, Mr Lavender decided to capitalise on the fact that 26 medical students from the Australian National University are visiting Bombala as part of their ‘rural week’ experience on Wednesday, August 17.
The medical students will join forces with Fire and Rescue, Ambulance, RFS, police and staff at Bombala Hospital in a simulated bus crash in Joseph Street.
“The exercise is designed to put emergency services under pressure while teaching them how to deal with realistic scenarios,” Lavender said.
Students from Bombala High School will act as patients during the exercise.
Joseph Street will be closed for several hours from about 1pm.
Local GP Dr Emma Cunningham said that this was a great opportunity for a community like Bombala to leave a lasting impression on the medical students and give them an understanding of the burden of health care in a small town.
“Personally, I returned to work in Bombala after spending my rural placement here 10 years ago,” Dr Cunningham said.
Afterwards the students will tour Bombala Hospital.