News and Business
At the end of 2024, the ER24 Site Based Medical Solutions (SBMS) team won the Annual Ace Remote Rescue Challenge (AARRC) in Zimbabwe, marking their first time participating. Following their victory, ER24 SBMS Base Manager Sean van der Merwe revealed their secret to clinching the title.
The annual competition, which took place at the Jecha Point Fishing Lodge, aimed to bring together various emergency medical services (specifically in remote areas) to sharpen skills across the region. The competition's remote location emulated the environment that site based services have to navigate during an emergency. Teams had to conquer both dry and wet conditions. Sean provides details on each gruelling task, which consisted of two teams of four members each.
“In the first simulated scenario, we had to rescue a person who’d fallen from a great height and was now trapped. The patient needed to be treated, stabilised, moved to the ambulance and then evacuated. The second challenge consisted of a high-speed motorboat on the Zambezi River where the motorboat hit a sand bank causing the passengers to be ejected from the boat. In both scenarios, the patients had sustained multiple life-threatening injuries.”
Every task presented reflects the full scope of SBMS experiences during a remote rescue operation. “The skills tested apply to the training and qualification held by the team members as per the emergency service protocols. We are trained to deal with all kinds of terrain and circumstances, as no two emergency calls are the same,” Sean explains.
Providing excellent medical services while safely navigating tough environments and landscapes is not a small feat, but it’s what ultimately sets Sean and the team apart from their competition. He highlights the requirements needed to be an ER24 SBMS paramedic.
“ER24 Site Base Medical Solutions has different kinds of requirements for the different sites we manage within ER24, this requires the necessary training and skills to perform the patient care and rescue that was required for this challenge.”
The challenge may have been physically taxing, but it was also designed to test teams mentally. “The scenarios are extremely realistic, as they are based on things that could go wrong in those circumstances. However, there is always a catch or a twist; this is done to challenge the problem-solving skills we have developed over the years coupled with the experience we have.”
One of the most important factors that helped ER24 come out victorious was the dynamics between the four team members and how well they understood and amplified each other’s strengths. Their ability to collaborate efficiently gave them the edge and helped them come out on top.
“The elements we focused on were clearly defining the roles and responsibilities for each team member, fostering open communication, setting shared goals, building trust, actively listening to diverse perspectives, and valuing each member's contribution to achieving collective success,” he explains.
“ER24 Site Base medics are faced with challenges each day that require a unique understanding of what is required and how to adapt to achieve the goal for a successful outcome. The competition just highlighted the excellence that the team already possesses.”
Although the ER24 team may have won the challenge, they also gained a deeper appreciation for the challenges their counterparts face.
“Being able to see what kind of incidents happen in Zimbabwe is something all the team members came to respect. Although the area mimicked some of the remote settings we are used to, experiencing their unique challenges, like the logistics for evacuating the patient to a higher care facility (which could be hours away due to the remoteness of the area), opened our eyes. We thank and wish the ACE team members all the best as they continue to face the daily challenges of day-to-day work in Zimbabwe.”
Congratulations to the following ER24 SBMS team members who also participated: Peter van der Merwe, Dietrich Ingenbleek and Sean Ferguson.
Interested to know more about ER24’s Site Based support, click here.