By Renee Wood
A Melbourne Water worker has been rescued by an Ambulance Victoria helicopter, winched through the air after suffering a snake bite in difficult terrain just outside Healesville.
Emergency services, including Monbulk CFA, were called just before 3pm Thursday 3 March to help extract the man in his 20s, who was bitten by a snake on the leg while doing some maintenance work in the catchment area.
Lilydale SES Unit Controller Shaun Caulfield was at the scene and said several rescue options were explored due to the difficulty of the rescue site.
“SES were requested to assist with our mule wheeled stretcher carrier initially, but once AV got on scene, they identified it was actually about a 40 degree slope that the patient was down,” he said.
A High Angle Rescue Response was also planned for and additional resources from FRV and CFA crews were brought in, including Healesville, Badger Creek and Wandin Fire Brigades.
Mr Caulfield said the victim and his colleague were also 40 to 50 metres down the slope and no ground crews were able to access them by foot.
“Luckily, the area they were in was literally in a clearing, so they were able to winch one of the flight paramedics down to the patient, and winch them back out again.”
Healesville SES and Monbulk CFA were also among the 11 appliances who responded to the call near Black Spur Road.
“Obviously, we were all there on standby because there’s a multitude of factors that can prevent them from being able to winch in and out.”
Mr Caulfield said luckily the patient was able to be successful removed for treatment by the winch and Ambulance Victoria confirmed he was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.
“They winched him up in the harness rather than a stretcher, so it suggests that he was doing okay, because you have to be conscious and alert to go into the harness.”
“It all worked out quite well in the end, the Melbourne Water crews were able to give us some fairly good location details.”
Mr Caulfield said snake bite rescues aren’t very common and within the SES he has only been called to a suspected bite in the past on Mount Dandenong.
“In my professional career as a paramedic as well, I think I’ve been to three snakebites in 20 years and one of them was Healesville Sanctuary with a keeper,” he said.
It’s unclear which snake bit the man but Polyvalent Snake Antivenom is usable for a broad spectrum of snake species.
“It’s come quite a long way, 20 years ago when I started in ambulance, it was pretty crucial to try and identify the type of snake because you had to give the right anti venom.
“Death from snake bite in Australia is actually quite rare and it’s usually only when people are bitten in very remote areas that it can turn out to be fatal because treatment is so good, and so readily available.”
