Hero doctor amputated arm 100ft up

wdnews@bepp.co.uk

A doctor has told of the dramatic scenario in which he had to amputate a man's crushed arm 100ft off the ground.

Dr James Hickman, 45, of Stoke St Gregory, near Langport in Somerset, carried out the emergency operation after the 56-year-old man's left arm became trapped in machinery at a feed mill in Langport last week.

Seventeen firefighters and 14 medical staff attempted to free the man, who was perched on a narrow gantry 100ft in the air.

After an hour of attempting to dismantle the machinery, it was decided Dr Hickman, there as a volunteer on his day off, would amputate the man's arm.

He said: "His arm was trapped in a machine with a large screw that transferred grain or feed to one place or another. My role was initially to give him some strong sedation and pain relief to make him more comfortable.

"The fire and rescue service tried to extract his arm from the machinery but, over time, it became clear that it wasn't going to be feasible within a reasonable time scale.

"His arm was very badly damaged and the only way of freeing him was amputation.

"It was challenging because it was a very narrow space and involved working at a height, which presents a range of dangers.

"I've done a lot of training in pre-hospital medicine but it was one of the most challenging experiences medically because of the environment.

"The amputation was a simplified procedure to that normally carried out in hospital.

"It was aimed to free the patient and preserve as much as possible that the circumstances would allow so that he could go straight into surgery for further procedures and retain as much functionality in his arm as possible."

The accident happened just after 8am at the Lloyd's Animal Feeds site at Westover Trading Estate last Monday.

Dr Hickman is a member of Somerset Accident Voluntary Emergency Service, a network of doctors trained to deal with emergencies outside of the hospital at the request of the ambulance service.

Most of the volunteers' work involves car crashes – and Dr Hickman was the first on the scene at December's horrific crash on the M5 outside Taunton.

Dr Hickman has been a member of SAVES for 13 years and is a GP at North Curry Health Centre.

He said: "One of the things that was key to the success of this incident was the air ambulance, the ambulance personnel, the fire and rescue service and myself all liaising and working together.

"The trauma team headed back to the hospital and were ready to receive the patient by air ambulance at Musgrove Park.

"SAVES doesn't have a very big profile and people generally do not realise there are these doctors who work on a volunteer basis."

The injured man, who was a worker at the site, is now recovering at home.