Incidents
A life-threatening medical emergency on a mining site is rarely straightforward due to hazardous, complex and sometimes difficult-to-access environments.
On a mining site, effective emergency care is about more than having the right medical equipment. It is about collaborative teamwork, having the right skills to identify hazards to safely reach the patient, provide appropriate treatment, facilitate extrication and support rapid evacuation to definitive care.
In fact, for a site-based ER24 paramedic, reaching an injured worker may be just as challenging as treating the injury itself.
Potentially hazardous terrain
Mining environments can expose workers and emergency responders to inherent dangers like ground collapses, heavy machinery, fires and explosions, flooding, hazardous substances, falls from height, confined spaces, and potentially toxic or oxygen-deficient atmospheres.
“These risks mean that ER24 paramedics need to understand not only how to treat a patient, but also how to operate safely within the environment,” says Peter van der Merwe, manager of ER24’s Site Based Medical Solutions.
In line with the principles of DMPR Chapter 16 – Rescue, First Aid and Emergency Preparedness and Response – mines need appropriate emergency preparedness and response arrangements based on their identified risks. Site-based medical teams must have the skills and equipment to respond to the specific hazards they may encounter.
Getting to the patient can be the first challenge
On a mining site, an injured worker may be deep underground, inside a confined space or in an area that has become unsafe following an incident. “Before the ER24 site-based paramedic can provide comprehensive treatment, the mine’s rescue services team may need to safely access and lower or raise patients using a rope rescue system supported by our medical teams,” says Van der Merwe.
Similarly, medics cannot simply approach a worker who collapses inside a confined space without taking necessary precautions. The atmosphere may contain toxic gases or insufficient oxygen, which could result in the rescuer becoming a second casualty.
“A site-based paramedic may also have to travel significant distances and navigate challenging terrain just to reach a patient,” he adds. “This can significantly affect the time between an incident occurring and medical treatment being provided. That's why you can’t separate the medical response from the rescue operation.”
Understanding different rescue scenarios
Specialist rescue training equips site-based medical personnel with an understanding of the techniques, equipment, and limitations involved in different rescue scenarios.
Depending on the mine’s risk profile, this may include awareness of and competencies in high-angle and rope rescue, confined-space interventions, trench and excavation rescue, water rescue, and working around hazardous or oxygen-deficient atmospheres.
Flooding, ground instability, fires, chemical incidents, and machinery-related accidents can present similar challenges.
The fundamental principle is clear: the ER24 site-based medic must not become a casualty while trying to reach another casualty. Medical care and technical rescue teams must work together.
“The purpose of specialist rescue training is not to turn every ER24 paramedic into a technical rescue specialist,” Van der Merwe explains. “Instead, it enables medical personnel to understand how their role fits into the mine’s broader emergency response structure.”
He adds that a site-based paramedic needs to know when it’s safe to approach, what personal protective equipment is required, when specialist rescue personnel are needed, and how medical treatment can be integrated into the extrication process
“This creates a more effective emergency response chain,” he says. The stages are:
Safe access → Immediate medical intervention → Stabilisation → Extrication → Evacuation → Definitive care
Each stage is important. “A patient may require urgent intervention at the scene, but if the environment remains dangerous, stabilisation and extrication may need to happen simultaneously with ongoing risk management.”
Preparing for the realities of mining
Site-based medical teams are an important component of a mine’s emergency preparedness capability. Their role extends beyond first aid to include planning, drills, emergency response coordination, and working alongside technical rescue teams and other mining personnel.
Ultimately, specialist rescue training helps ensure that medical teams are prepared for the realities of the environments in which they work.
The objective is simple: the right skills, for the right hazards, at the right time – when the patient needs them most.