Elderly woman rescued by lifeboat after suffering head injury on Holy Island

Seahouses all-weather lifeboat was called into action on Tuesday, May 12, to take North East Ambulance Service paramedics to Lindisfarne.

Holy Island coastguard team, co-responders for the ambulance service, were already at the scene and treating the lady following her fall on Sandham Lane.

The lifeboat launch request came in at 5.21pm. Hide tide was at 7.39pm but had the ambulance crew crossed via the road causeway they would have been stranded on the island.

After the ambulance crew arrived at Seahouses the lifeboat made its way to Holy Island in quite rough conditions.

The lifeboat arrived at 6.20pm and the two paramedics helped to stabilise the woman before she was brought back to Seahouses by lifeboat at 8.28pm.

She was then transferred to the ambulance and taken to the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington.

Ian Clayton, Seahouses lifeboat operations manager, said: “While this was not a Covid-19 related incident, our crew made use of the PPE provided by the RNLI.

“It is not possible to social distance aboard a lifeboat, so any call will put our crews at some risk. However, the RNLI will continue to launch and respond as normal when needed.

“On this occasion, it was an uncomfortable but necessary passage for the casualty and the ambulance personnel.

“We wish the casualty a speedy recovery, and hope she had no adverse effects due to the unpleasant sea conditions while aboard the lifeboat. It was another good example of services working well together.”

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