So that event organisers are clear as to what our medical crew are able to do, details are listed below.
'First Aider' - qualified with either a REC Level 2 or HSE First Aid at Work certificate plus additional skills.
Skills include: All basic first aid skills; specific training in working in remote environments; awareness of environmental implications; spinal management awareness; use of basic splints for fractures; trained in radio procedures.
'Advanced First Aider' - all the skills of a 'First Aider', plus additional skills such as use of vacuum splints for fractures, AED (defribrillator) training, Oxygen and Entonox use.
'Mountain Rescue Casualty Carer', 'Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician', 'Wilderness First Responder' - all the skills of an 'Advanced First Aider' plus advanced spinal management skills, use of airway adjuncts, suction devices, traction splints for fractures.
'Paramedic' - all the skills of the MR Cas. Carer, WEMT and WFR. The main additional benefit of a paramedic is their more regular exposure to casualty diagnosis and treatment. Due to insurance restrictions, working outside of their NHS environment, our paramedics will be unable to administer drugs or cannulate a patient.
Strata Medical Crew
Working alongside Robin and Claire on Events are the following crew:
Janet
Advanced First Aider.
Janet currently works for Powys County Council as a Youth Participation Officer, often working with Young Carers and the Powys Youth Forum.
She has a background of working as a pony trekking guide and was also involved with the local Scouts for many years.
Janet has been involved in Event Medical Cover in Mid Wales for over 30 years. She has covered events such as the World Bog Snorkelling Championships, Man v Horse marathon, Tregaron Trotting Races, road cycling events and mountain biking events such as the Trans Wales, Trans Scotland and the Rough Ride.
Janet is a valuable asset to the Strata Medical team. Being the mother of Robin and Tomos, and being the mother-in-law of Claire, she happily extends her motherly love to anyone who needs it. She is usually to be found in the Event Medical Tent providing lots of tlc and expert treatment to anyone who needs it at the event venue.
Tomos
First Aider
Tomos is a freelance outdoor education instructor and is a qualified Mountain Leader.
Tomos has been involved in Event Medical Cover for approximately 10 years. He has helped to cover events such as the World Bog Snorkelling and Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling championships, Trotting races, Man v Horse marathon, Trans Wales mountain bike event, 3 Peaks challenges and other charity walking events around the UK.
Tomos is very comfortable and capable in an outdoor environment and is often to be found manning the most inaccessible part of an event course. He is also the Strata Medical mechanic and is usually tasked with our vehicle servicing and maintenance throughout the year.
Chris
Advanced First Aider
Chris worked for Llandovery Tyres and Batteries as one of their mobile tyre fitters for over 4 years.
He has been involved with Strata Medical since 2008 and has helped to cover many road cycling and mountain biking events in Mid and South Wales.
Chris is usually to be found in one of our 4x4 vehicles, and is an experienced off-road driver.
Steve
First Aider
Steve is recently retired, but spent 40 years working in local government and 35 of those working as an internal auditor.
In his spare time he enjoys fishing and sailing.
Steve has been involved in Event Medical & Safety Cover for over 30 years in Wales, mainly working on events such as mountain biking, road cycling, trotting races, and long distance walking.
Steve's long involvement in safety cover is invaluable on many of our events as he has an intricate knowledge of Mid Wales such as vehicle access points to the remotest of areas and mobile phone reception difficulties.
Gary
Community First Responder
Gary is a storeman at his current workplace, but has also been a retained Fire-Figher for the past 7 years and a Community First Responder for the past 6 years.
Previous jobs have included being an outdoor education instructor and lifeguard. In his spare time he likes to go out mountain biking and plays darts.
Gary has worked on event medical cover for 8 years, and has been part of the Strata Medical crew since the beginning of 2011.
Stuart
First Aider
Stuart's main job is as a carpenter, which he has been doing for 25 years.
He has been riding bikes almost as long as he has been able to walk and is a MIAS Mountain Bike Leader and a BCF Cycle Leader. He also has his Walking Group Leader award.
Stuart runs his own mountain biking and cycling events company called Red Kite Events, along with two others. Over recent years he has built up an intricate knowledge of exciting mountain biking routes throughout Mid Wales and beyond.
Stuart has been part of the Strata Medical team since 2010, but it is often hard to pin him down to work on any mountain biking events as he is usually participating!
Danny
Paramedic and Mountain Rescue Casualty Carer
Daryl
Paramedic, Lowland Search & Rescue Team Member and Search Dog Handler
Niki
Paramedic, Lowland Search & Rescue Team Member and Search Dog Handler
Ken
Student Paramedic and Mountain Rescue Team Casualty Carer
