Scald Hill, Cheviot Hills

Incident Type: Rescue

A competitor in the Chevy Chase – a 20 mile race that takes in the two highest summits in the Cheviot Hills – began to feel unwell and collapsed 300 metres to the south-west of Scald Hills.

Mountain Rescue personnel, including a Paramedic, were swiftly on scene. Following an initial assessment of the competitor’s condition it was decided that a stretcher evacuation would be required. Additional personnel with vital rescue equipment, including the Team’s new lightweight patient monitor, made their way to the incident site high up above the Harthope valley.

Once the competitor’s condition had stabilised, they were packaged on a lightweight Titan stretcher with a wheel ready for a long carry off. The 2.5km evacuation involved climbing back up Scald Hill before descending the track, steep and rocky in places, down into the valley. The new patient monitor proved its worth, enabling two of the Team’s Paramedics to more easily monitor the competitor’s condition throughout the evacuation. After an arduous 1.5 hour stretcher evacuation, the competitor was handed over to the crew from the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust for onward transport to hospital.

A great team effort to resolve the incident and ensure the competitor reached definitive medical care as soon as possible. We wish the competitor well for a full and swift recovery.

The incident involved 15 members for 3 hours 31 minutes.