Great North Air Ambulance Service

A man involved in a ‘freak accident’ after climbing Helvellyn has praised the air ambulance team who came to his aid.

Daniel Milligan, 33, from London, was visiting the Lake District with his wife and had just conquered Helvellyn and was making his way back down when he slipped on an innocuously flat path and broke his tibia.

Recalling the incident, which happened on 18 February, he said: “As I tried to stabilise myself, I heard a loud snap and extreme pain and I started to go in and out of consciousness. When I came around, I told my wife to bandage my leg, intending for us to walk down the hill. However, my leg couldn't hold me when I attempted to stand. At this moment I realised I was in shock due to impaired judgement. I instructed my wife to place me in my sleeping bag and call for help.”

Mr Milligan’s wife dialled 999 and due to the remote location of the incident, both the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) and Keswick Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT) were activated to the scene.

The helicopter from GNAAS landed on Brown Crag while the mountain rescue team made their way up the hill towards White Side where Mr Milligan had fallen.

He said: “I was in my sleeping bag looking as they landed and felt a lot of relief. The team was exceptional in providing reassurance and swiftly attending to my needs. They assessed the injury, secured me in a splint, and just as they finished, the mountain rescue team arrived to transport me to the helicopter.”

To help manage the pain, the doctor and paramedic from GNAAS provided Mr Milligan with morphine and they worked alongside KMRT to place him on a stretcher and carry him to the helicopter.

He said: “The guys were absolutely great. So professional but still jovial and they make you feel in safe hands. There was no way I was walking off that hill, I was in a sticky spot and without them it could have gone south real quick.”

Mr Milligan was flown to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle in 13 minutes where he received further treatment for his leg, including surgery and having a cast put on.

He added: “You never think it's going to happen to you, it was a bit of a freak accident. I've done a lot of wild camping and I'm reasonably experienced but when it went wrong you realise how vulnerable you can be, without them things could have gone from bad to worse. It's hard to express your gratitude when you're in a tight spot like that and they show up and help you.”

GNAAS needs to raise £8.5m a year to remain operational. To find out more about how you can support the charity visit: gna.as/fund247

About GNAAS

• The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is a charitably funded air ambulance service which provides life-saving care throughout the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Isle of Man.
  
• They operate two helicopters 365 days a year and also operate a night-time service in the North East and Cumbria on rapid response vehicles.
  
  
• The aircraft cover an area of more than 8,000 square miles and on board are specialist doctors and paramedics who effectively bring the hospital to the patient.
  
  
• The level of skill and expertise of the on-board team mean they respond to the most critically ill and injured people, giving them the best chance of survival.
  
  
• GNAAS is a progressive organisation which has pioneered pre-hospital care in the region.
  
• The latest techniques, equipment and drugs are constantly being evaluated to ensure the charity can provide the best care possible for their patients.
  
  
• 2022 marked the service providing 20 years of life-saving care. Throughout this time, they have responded to more than 23,500 incidents across the region, with road traffic collisions being the most frequent type of incident responded to by the team.
  
  
• They do not receive Government funding and must therefore raise £8.5m a year through public donations to remain operational.

For more information visit: https://www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/ or follow @gnairambulance on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok