Lockdown challenges facing valley search and rescue team
AS SOMEONE who lives and runs most weeks in the local hills, I have been aware of the Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team for years.
They also have their training nights on a Tuesday in Mytholmroyd, meaning we regularly run past them at the end of the evening on a Calder Valley Fell Runners club night.
However, there is a big difference between knowing of them and actually seeing them in action.
A year ago exactly, when marshalling a race at a local and very exposed trig point - in high winds and torrential rain – we had to rely on CVSRT to evacuate
‘A big thank you to all the members of CVSRT and their supporters’
a casualty off the tops to the waiting ambulance.
Spending those two hours up there - after making the call and then waiting and watching them in action - for the first time I truly appreciated the enormity of what it is they do for the people of our valley.
CVSRT has experienced an increase in callouts over 2020. While the nature of their callouts remains the same, with the national lockdowns in place for significant periods, our local team expected a higher volume of callouts, as people took the opportunity to enjoy the countryside on our doorstep.
It is worth noting that for the first part of the year, CVSRT was the busiest mountain rescue team in England and Wales.
Covid-19 brings with it some significant additional challenges. Notably, the team have had to adapt how they operate in response to the pandemic, with the increased use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in particular. Each team member uses this when on a callout.
They also have to undertake additional decontamination activities once a casualty is safe, so as to prepare team members, equipment and vehicles for the next callout.
This change has had considerable impacts on the running costs of the team.
CVSRT is a registered charity and receives no direct Government funding. The average cost per year to remain operational and provide this vital service is £45,000. And this past year, the costs have been even higher with the need to purchase this additional PPE to reduce the risk of infection.
Additionally, as a result of Covid-19, CVSRT made the sensible decision quite early in 2020 to cancel the majority of its regular fundraising activities, which has compounded the extra costs.
Our local community has always been fantastic - supporting CVSRT by raising awareness and money for them. Throughout the pandemic this has not changed. People have donated online and purchased their branded head scarfs, with some individuals and groups doing even more to help raise funds for the team.
Currently, the team consists of an amazing 55 operational voluntary members who give sacrificially of their time away from families, friends and personal lives/hobbies to provide this much-needed service.
Those who are not yet retired often hold down often full-time jobs ranging from teachers, to civil servants, to project managers, to managing directors and even police officers.
A team is on call 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, ready to respond as and when required.
A big thank you to all the members of Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team and their supporters for all they have done, especially during the global pandemic over the past year and all they continue to do to keep us safe.
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