Independently Owned, Locally Grown, Community Loved
Left to right: Liam Shields (ERT Training), Andrew Cox (Seaforth RSL Sub Branch President), Ross Daily (Seaforth RFS Captain). Photo supplied
Advanced first aid kits, oxygen equipment and a team of trained local volunteers will now be part of Seaforth's growing emergency response network, designed to help residents when floodwaters leave them cut off from medical assistance.
With the wet season approaching, Seaforth RSL Sub Branch is taking community safety into its own hands, recruiting eight volunteers across flood-prone areas to provide initial medical assistance when ambulances and emergency services cannot get through.
Backed by a recent $5,000 grant, the initiative draws on the military, paramedic and mine rescue experience already within the community, turning a wealth of skills into a practical lifeline for neighbours who may otherwise face hours waiting for help.
When floodwaters rise and roads become impassable, getting medical help in Seaforth can become a waiting game, with local residents potentially left isolated for hours.
So, members of Seaforth RSL Sub Branch are working to strengthen the community's ability to respond when emergency services cannot get through, using their own experience and newly acquired equipment to provide early assistance to those in need.
The Sub Branch has received a $5,000 grant through the Foundation for Rural Resilience's Isolated Community Aid & Response Equipment (ICARE) program, supporting a trial initiative designed to help residents in flood-prone parts of the area.
Seaforth Sub Branch President Andrew Cox said the need for a local support network was critical, particularly given the area's ageing population and distance from emergency services.
"We're often cut off. We're outside of town, and we don't have quick access to an ambulance which can be quite worrying in times of need," he said.
Andrew said residents had previously faced lengthy waits for an ambulance, including people suffering broken bones and other injuries.
With the nearest ambulance service based in Calen, or otherwise coming from Mackay, the Sub Branch recognised the importance of having people equipped to provide initial assistance while help was on its way.
The idea also came from recognising the experience already within the local RSL community, including an ex-paramedic, Andrew's own background as an ex-patrol medic in the Army, and other members with mine rescue qualifications.
“There's a few of us in Seaforth that have got ex-paramedic experience, myself as an ex-patrol medic in the Army, and a couple of other guys with mine rescue qualifications.
“That’s when we raised the question - 'Well, why can't we help ourselves?,' and that’s why we applied for the grant.”
Through the trial program, the community has been divided into isolated flood-prone sectors, with two people being recruited from each area to help ensure residents have someone nearby if roads become inaccessible.
Eight participants are undertaking training, with online learning completed and practical assessments planned this year, ahead of the wet season.
The grant has funded three advanced first aid kits, two oxygen kits, pneumatic splints, headlamps, casualty cards and vital signs assessment instruments, with equipment allocated across the identified flood-prone areas.
Andrew said the intention was to have participants collect their kits from the fire station before returning to their respective areas when severe weather threatened.
"If we do get a cyclone or find ourselves in the midst of a natural disaster, two people from each area will come into the fire station, grab their kits, go back home, and then in the event that something does happen and we can't access them, they've at least got someone there, with the proper equipment to help themselves and their communities nearby."
A select number of Sub Branch members also hope to undertake further pain management training next year, subject to Queensland Health approval.
Andrew said the skills gained through Defence flows into their daily lives now, with their hearts still focused on service to their community in an event where it’s needed.
"Without the community, we're nothing."
"We absolutely need their support and vice versa.”
“Some of the skills that we bring back out of Defence can be repurposed, and it’s something majority of us carry with us – we like to give back to our communities where we can."
The emergency response trial is one of several community-focused projects undertaken by the Seaforth RSL Sub Branch, which continues to support both veterans and the wider community.
The Sub Branch, and wider Seaforth community is also working towards completing their bronze Afghanistan veteran statue along the esplanade as part of a larger memorial project that is said to be the only cenotaph of it’s kind in Australia.
To find out more, or to donate, contact
secretary@seaforth.rslqld.net.au
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