 Poster: A snowHead
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| a.j. wrote: |
8 really hours doesn't seem that long to me, assuming a standard sprain type thing, and that I am not on holiday alone. Accident at 10-11am, first time I'd expect them to check in is around 8pm (dinner service, when they know where I'll be). Perhaps I'm just used to uk a&e but it would never occur to me to try and ring someone in the med centre, or even try and drop in on them - I'd assume it would be near impossible to find them 
If alone, I guess I'd expect the resort manager to send someone down to the medcentre in good time before closing to see if I needed anything. Were you alone Hopalong? |
This..
We had an injury on the first run, first day in December. It was 8 hrs before we were even back at the hotel never mind having time to find out how the casualty was before then.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not that a TO was involved or a ski leader or any other type of rep, but when hubby injured himself at 3pm in the afternoon, it was the following evening before I made it back to our accommodation. Docs, local hospital for scan, transfer for emergency op, etc etc.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Has anyone called SNOWHEADS GOLD on this one yet ? 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Kruisler, Na . . . we want the skinny on this . . . not that we'll get it, I think the OP's a bit reticent to name and shame and if the Tea Club's involved they will already be in damage limitation mode and we may not even hear from the OP again . . . Though I'd like to be wrong.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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It doesn't matter who the TO or "club" the OP went with. I think we've established that this wasn't a life threatening injury and indeed the OP was well enough to get back to apres 8 hours later. Yes it seems like there is an opportunity for the TO concerned to offer a more hands on service in this case as clearly the OP feels it necessary. Personally in the same position I'd take the view that I was a grown up and more than capable of handling stuff, provided I had a phone, wallet and was conscious and would actually feel a bit uncomfortable about someone I barely knew clucking over me unnecessarily.
Putting the shoe on the other foot - if every on mountain "leader" had to accompany every injury to hospital etc then they'd barely be providing a service on the mountain. I'd guess in most chalets most weeks there is one majorish and a couple of minor injuries each week, so while it's a big deal for the injured party it's thoroughly routine for the TO. Put it another way - do you think the reps in Ibiza etc spent every night in A&E with assorted drunkards in alcohol fuelled injuries?
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fatbob, You got a blue helmet? 'Move along please, nothink to see hear now son' . . . well put it away, it'll drop off in these temps. Na, we don't expect a host to go with the injured party but to follow up with other staff or after shift is to be expected.
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Other thing to bear in mind - if someone is seriously injured, medical staff will quite often cut off clothing to avoid disturbing the area. Now try getting home with your onesie in pieces. I've been there with someone that has been cut out of their gear, and it was quite a challenge to sort out enough clothing for them to get home respectably.
But I still don't really see that this is the responsibility of the leader. Everyone has a mobile phone don't they? Easy enough to give a number to the casualty, anything you need just call this number or ask them to call us for you. Problem solved.
If, of course, we are talking about a sprained ankle on a day out with a TO hosting service, I think you can expect exactly the same amount of help as if you were skiing with a friend that had no training or experience of the mountain. Largely because that's what most of them have got, and it is hardly a secret when you meet up with them - on our last trip we were told by the ski hosts that they were there to show us a few pistes we might be interested in and somewhere that is normally ok for lunch, and that was the end of it. If we wanted that, turn up at X place at Y time.
What we are missing here is facts. We need to know what capacity the "leader" was in. We need to know what the guests were told they could expect. We are also going to need some idea of the company involved and what their booking conditions and included services look like. If the Ts & Cs you agreed to when you booked say "our hosts are here to show you around the mountain, ensure you have a good time, and should the worst happen provide assistance, support and hold your hand while you cry about having your dislocated thumb reset" then that is what you can expect. If their Ts & Cs say "our hosts provide a suggested route around the mountain, but you are completely responsible for ensuring that you are capable of skiing each run they lead you to, and in the event of injury or accident you are on your own" then that is what you get, and anything on top of that is a bonus.
A bit of courtesy and concern for your situation is normal, but how do you know that the hospital hadn't contacted the TO to tell them what was going on, or the TO contacted the hospital that told them that you'd be out in X hours and they'd pack you into a taxi no problemo?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Monium, I was amazed when I finally got in to see my hubby at Briancon A&E that they hadn't cut him out of his, esp as he had a broken neck was in a rigid brace and wasn't allowed to move. Even thermals and mid-layer had been removed and they must've been taken over his head.
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Hells Bells, Monium, when my knee was shattered, I had on a brand-new pair of very expensive SOS trousers that I begged them not to cut. They got me out of them without causing me any pain at all (and I was a first-class wimp back then with a minus pain threshold). I think the doctors and nurses in hosptials dealing with ski injuries on a regualr basis get a fair amount of practice. They probably ski as well and appreciate the cost of some good gear.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My friend was injured on a skydiving holiday in russia and her partner asked the paramedics to carefully unpick the stiching of her rig, so that it could be repaired later, rather than cut off and be totally ruined... They also had to take a door off its hinges to make a stretcher but then it was Russia. They said their £80 insurance was the best money they had ever spent... they had a private jet back to hospital in uk...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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WayneC, skydiving in Russia . . . I'm actually at a loss for words 
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Hopalong, hello and welcome.
Hope your hopping less.
Re your experience- sounds fair really given you managed to hop back, but I guess it was a miserable and lonely experience if not the worst injury ever. I suppose this is a reason to meet up with mates on the same holiday.
For the general thread I think Mark Warner in St Anton has some sort of join ski hosting / ski instructor thing going- but perhaps there is always an instructor. Or I could be wrong.
Would be interesting to know how badly injured you were and if there was any other contact between you / pisteurs / hospital and the leader/rep/instructor?
Mind you the third of Hopalongs posts sort of suggests that the 'leader' is it for the whole holiday.
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You know it makes sense.
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Masque, at Aerograd Kolomna if you're interested. A great dropzone, see http://www.aerograd.ru/en/en-news/ but it was the discussion about medical professionals cutting off and ruining expensive kit in accidents that reminded me about the incident. And it’s worth re-telling that you don't have to let them, unless it's critical obviously. A made to measure parachute harness can cost hundreds of pounds, the paramedic might not know that, and a couple of minutes spent unpicking the stitching which can be easily repaired later is one less worry for the patient...
I wasn’t suggesting that they unpick the seams of skiing trousers but maybe a AviPack... Not really any help in the Hopalong incident though...
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| WayneC wrote: |
but it was the discussion about medical professionals cutting off and ruining expensive kit in accidents that reminded me about the incident. And it’s worth re-telling that you don't have to let them, unless it's critical obviously. A made to measure parachute harness can cost hundreds of pounds, the paramedic might not know that, and a couple of minutes spent unpicking the stitching which can be easily repaired later is one less worry for the patient...
I wasn’t suggesting that they unpick the seams of skiing trousers but maybe a AviPack... Not really any help in the Hopalong incident though... |
That's a hard call, and it depends on the situation.
The injury may not be "critical", but it really depends on how busy the paramedic is. Are there other calls they'll have to delay responding while un-stitching the parachute harness? The injured person and his mate may not be aware of those other things going on.
It doesn't take very long to unpick the seams of ski trousers either. And the trousers easily cost over a hundred pound. So yes, by all means request they not to cut it if possible. But I wouldn't be too surprise if such requests are refused even when it doesn't seem too "urgent" from the victim's point of view.
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Poster: A snowHead
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When I was in hospital as a kid with a broken arm, the girl next to me was absolutly gutted the paramedics had cut through her popper tracky b's, sad times.
WayneC, did they actually unpick the stiching on the rig (difficult without rigging tools) or just cut in a less harmful and easily repaired place? Thats protocall, to show the paramedics where to easily cur the harness so it can be repaired easily, not ask them to unstich it!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I guess it was a miserable and lonely experience if not the worst injury ever. I suppose this is a reason to meet up with mates on the same holiday.
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this. I guess if you go on holiday alone - or ski alone - you have to be prepared for this sort of eventuality. When I was injured recently I was with my brother in law, and he was great, but I do ski alone sometimes. The initial part would have been fine - there were people about, I was very near a lift and the guy who collided with me stuck around and was very concerned, and I can speak enough French, but it would have been difficult - and a bit miserable - to cope alone in the apartment, where I was taken back by ambulance and I'd have run out of food before too long! I guess then my insurance would have had to repatriate me sooner rather than later but I had friends around, and several people in the UK offered to fly out to help, too.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I guess if you go on holiday alone - or ski alone - you have to be prepared for this sort of eventuality
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When my boyfriend broke one wrist and sprained the other last year, he woudl have had a very difficult few days. Getting dressed and cutting up food required help, and he couln't manipulate the broken wrist or the sprian wrist enough to wash under the sprained arm pit.
Used to be quite commen in Sheffield to see people with two broken thumbs... ouch dendex.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| kat.ryb wrote: |
| WayneC, did they actually unpick the stiching on the rig (difficult without rigging tools) or just cut in a less harmful and easily repaired place? Thats protocall, to show the paramedics where to easily cur the harness so it can be repaired easily, not ask them to unstich it! |
I 'spose so, and perhaps they still had to wait for the door taking off its hinges when they didn’t have a suitable board, also the injured person was a radiographer. So they must have had the situation under control and realised it wasn't necceasry to ruin it. They had lots of offers from medical staff to accompany them back to UK! Both are still jumping...
Where do you jump kat.ryb?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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FAQ
I was a patroller and instructor up there, and you are right, it was so common it was barely classified as injured 