A DOCTOR has helped save several lives in two years since he joined a group of volunteer emergency response medics.

David Hutchins regularly either saves lives or mitigates life-changing consequences as a member of BASICS Devon, a charitable network of 20 emergency volunteer medics providing immediate access to specialist medical care at the scene of an accident or illness.

BASICS emergency response volunteer Dr David Hutchins completed a gruelling four-day cycle across the Pyrenees in aid of BASICS.
BASICS emergency response volunteer Dr David Hutchins completed a gruelling four-day cycle across the Pyrenees in aid of BASICS. (David Hutchins)

On one occasion he was cycling to his Middlemoor home from working at Derriford Hospital when he came across a crashed motorbike rider and saved his life. On a second occasion, he responded to a BASICS alert to attend fallen horse rider with multiple injuries and saved her life

David also helps raise funds for BASICS through his love of adventure and exercise. He raised £2,500 though a sponsored Lake District Ironman triathlon and an unsupported solo four-day 1,000km cycle ride across the Pyrenees, when he camped along the arduous route. During the triathlon he became a casualty himself by breaking a toe in a lake on an underwater rock.

As a consultant anaesthetist specialising in critical care transfer and pain management he has the skills needed at emergencies.

He said: “I can provide support for the highly trained paramedics from the ambulance service, but there some things they can’t do at the scene. The main idea is that I arrive with all my heavy kit before the ambulance service, if can. I respond from home, so I attend locally and hope to provide trauma care before the casualty is then taken to an A&E unit. I have a key role in providing clear airwaves, administering high-end drugs and taking care of a non-responsive patient. The sooner I can manage the breathing, for instance in a patient in cardiac arrest, the more I can reduce the long-term consequences of their trauma and avoid brain damage.

“I grew up here and helped my parents on their farm, so I understand how remote rural areas can be, especially when someone’s had a serious accident.”

Volunteer emergency response BASICS Dr David Hutchins raising money for BASICS on his Lake District Ironman triathlon.
Volunteer emergency response BASICS Dr David Hutchins raising money for BASICS on his Lake District Ironman triathlon. (David Hutchins)

Sometimes he cannot reach casualties because the patient can be inaccessible by car and when he attended the horse rider he had to leave his car and walk a distance with heavy equipment. In that case the rider had multiple injuries and was ‘very sick’: “Despite my struggles, I was able to give senior guidance to the paramedics and the rider had to be airlifted to hospital by air ambulance.”

He responds from home where he lives with wife Kate, also a consultant anaesthetist at Derriford, close to his parents’ (Steve and Adey) farm, where they help with calving and lambing.

David is on 24-hour availability for BASICs, so stores his heavy kit, including drugs, a defibrillator, oxygen supply, personal protection clothing in a house the couple are restoring, while living in a mobile home in their garden. He is also team doctor for Ashburton Dartmoor Search & Rescue volunteers.

BASICS Devon is buying training kits for volunteers to teach basic life support skills in the most remote communities. More information at: www.basics-devon.org.uk

BASICS emergency response volunteer doctors have received a funding boost to help the public save lives.
Dr David Hutchins is part of the BASICS emergency response volunteer doctors team which has received a funding boost to help the public save lives with basic training. (BASICS Devon)
David Hutchins is often first on the scene of emergencies where he can save lives
David Hutchins is often first on the scene of emergencies where he can save lives (Tindle)