Type of incident - Medical Emergency

Date of incident – 23/05/02

Time – 10.30am

Location – Coldred (in-between Dover and Canterbury)

In 2002, Roger Bates suffered a horrendous accident and needed the help of the Kent Air Ambulance. At the time, Roger was a builder. He was 40ft up in the air painting the roof of the building when the scaffolding he was on collapsed plunging him to the first floor of the house. Roger landed on his hip, shattering his pelvis and dislocating his hip, he also broke his nose. The scaffold board he had been standing on fell from the scaffolding tower straight onto the back of his head causing a scar that is still visible to this day.

 

The emergency services were called and a land ambulance arrived first. They immediately called for Kent Air Ambulance. Roger had suffered significant head injuries and in fact, his heart stopped on the way to hospital in the helicopter. He was later told by his Doctor and surgeons that he wouldn’t be here today without the intervention of the Air Ambulance as his journey to Margate Hospital took just 5 minutes compared to the 45 it would have taken by road.

 

Roger was in Margate Hospital for two weeks. His hip injury was the most pressing concern and so he was transferred to  St. George’s hospital, Tooting, a specialist hip centre. In December 2003 he was finally able to rid himself of the crutches that he had used since the accident.

 

In March 2004 Roger returned to Kent Air Ambulance’s base in Marden to meet the crew that saved him that day. Just a few months later Roger became a volunteer. He now devotes his time to attending cheque presentations, emptying collection boxes and representing the Air Ambulance at fetes and fairs.

 

Roger wanted to highlight the role that Kent Air Ambulance played in his rescue. As he himself says ‘everyone from the Chief Executive down is fantastic at Kent Air Ambulance and I feel privileged to have been rescued by such a wonderful organisation’.

 

Share this story with your favourite social / bookmarking site.