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Katie Woolf spoke with St John Ambulance Regional Manager Northern Andrew Everingham on the Finke Desert Race accident · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf on Mixed one oh four
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: point nine thanks to Joyce Main Darwin.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Joining us on the line right now is Saint John Ambulance,
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  Speaker 2: Regional Manager of Northern Andrew Everingham. Good morning to you Andrew.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Mine Katy.
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  Speaker 2: A very busy weekend, but tragedy in central Australia with
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  Speaker 2: a man in his sixties passing away after being struck
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  Speaker 2: by a vehicle watching the Fink Desert Race on the weekend.
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  Speaker 2: I know that that obviously paramedics are on hand to
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  Speaker 2: try and assist with all of those injuries of the
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  Speaker 2: spectators as well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, as you say, you know, a two week
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  Speaker 1: tragic incident. On the weekend. At about nine thirty eight,
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  Speaker 1: our vent medical staff responded to reports of spectators that
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  Speaker 1: have been struck by vehicle thirty five kilometers down the
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  Speaker 1: thin track. They identified our spectator who was in his
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  Speaker 1: sixties that despite a team working on him, sadly pakaway's scene.
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  Speaker 1: There's another male identified he's fifty who was seriously injured
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  Speaker 1: and a woman in the fifties who received mynd injured.
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  Speaker 1: Our event medical paramedics tendanccene and transported the male patient
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  Speaker 1: via medi back by helicopter through to the Our Springs Hospital.
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  Speaker 1: We are mindful of this as an ongoing police investigation,
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  Speaker 1: so we can't give any further details that I've thought
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  Speaker 1: are with all those of the affected by the incident.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, outcomes and an absolute tragedy, there is no doubt
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  Speaker 2: about that. Do you have any idea the latest sort
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  Speaker 2: of status update on those other spectators at this point,
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  Speaker 2: Andrew or is there not a huge amount more at
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  Speaker 2: this point?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, looks not a lot of information. I know that
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  Speaker 1: there is a mail and the fifties will be transport
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  Speaker 1: transported through to Adelaide via Raal find Doctor service in
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  Speaker 1: stable condition. But you know, throughout the event it's a
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  Speaker 1: huge event for us. You know, we attend into thirty
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  Speaker 1: seven patients over the weekend, a long weekend, and twenty
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  Speaker 1: seven of those were transported through to Our Springs further care.
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  Speaker 1: This is a huge event, fir from John logistically, from
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  Speaker 1: a resource and point of view, it's our biggest event.
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  Speaker 1: We have five staff and volunteers out there, eight in
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  Speaker 1: vehicles and free helicopters. So it's a huge event and
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  Speaker 1: a massive event to the territory in Central Australia and
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  Speaker 1: you know, we've always been proud to be a part
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  Speaker 1: of it, but obviously today yesterday, Sorry, it's a tragic outcome,
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  Speaker 1: and you know it's obviously affected a number of people
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  Speaker 1: in the community and our stuff and volunteers as well.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, there is no doubt about that. It would be
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  Speaker 2: such a tough thing. And Andrew, is I mean, is
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  Speaker 2: this the first time that we've had a spectator fatality
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  Speaker 2: at the think, well that.
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  Speaker 1: I'm aware of. I've been involved an event for a
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  Speaker 1: number of years, around ten years, so I'm not exactly sure.
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  Speaker 1: I can't speak for sort of previous to that, but yeah,
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  Speaker 1: this is the most serious incident we've seen in a
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  Speaker 1: number of years at the event. In the business that
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  Speaker 1: we're in, we plan for these type of outcomes, but
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  Speaker 1: we hope for the best, and unfortunately, yesterday, you know,
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  Speaker 1: our worst nightmares came true and we did see that
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  Speaker 1: critical incident. Yeah, it's devastating for everyone involved.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, is it? I mean you said there as well,
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  Speaker 2: thirty seven patients over the course of the weekend. We
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  Speaker 2: all know that this type of what is a dangerous
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: kind of sport, But is it difficult then for you
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  Speaker 2: guys in terms of transporting patients back to the Alice
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  Speaker 2: Springs Hospital as well, you know, and triaging everybody because
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  Speaker 2: that's such a large volume over a course of a weekend,
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  Speaker 2: isn't it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it is, you know, and that's why we have
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  Speaker 1: the numbers of staff and the resources that we put
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  Speaker 1: to this event. Those injuries and the patient presentation rates
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  Speaker 1: are consistent with what we expected at that kind of event.
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  Speaker 1: We've seen that over the previous years of the event.
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  Speaker 1: We know. We do a lot of planning to make
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  Speaker 1: sure that we've got the right numbers of up staff
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  Speaker 1: and all through to the helicopters and our attensive care
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  Speaker 1: paramedics through in race control to make sure that we
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  Speaker 1: can respond and timely manage to these patients when they
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  Speaker 1: fall off. And the injuries that we see are consistent
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  Speaker 1: with you know, those most sort of events. We see
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  Speaker 1: a lot of broken clavigal armed legs and musclow s,
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  Speaker 1: filetal injuries and spiral patients as well.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, it would have been such a busy weekend
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  Speaker 2: for you guys. I know that you will work incredibly
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  Speaker 2: hard and you are incredibly helpful at every event that
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: happens around the Northern Territory. But particularly one like this where,
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  Speaker 2: like you said, you know the reality is that there
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  Speaker 2: will always be quite a few injuries, So hats off
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  Speaker 2: to the work that you guys do, really appreciate it. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: thank you so much for your time this morning. Andrew.
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  Speaker 2: That is Saint John Ambulance Regional Manager Northern Andrew Everingham.
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  Speaker 2: There