How it All Began

During the summer of 1970, the growing need for an Emergency Ambulance Service in the south of the Isle of Man became very clear, and at the instigation of Mr. Ken Quine BEM, a meeting was called to form a rota of drivers who could be called upon 24 Hours a day, should the need arise.  This service worked in conjunction with the Rushen No.1 Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade and its Bedford Ambulance, but within a matter of months, this vehicle was deemed inadequate for the work that was being carried out.  After consultation with the then Health Services Board and the Nobles Hospital Administration Committee, an Ambulance formerly in use at Nobles was handed over in November 1970, to be used as an Emergency Ambulance for the South.  This created a new problem – garaging. This vehicle would not fit into the Falcon Yard Garage previously used for the St. John Ambulance Brigade vehicle.  Various discussions took place within the units involved and on the 11th February 1971, in order to secure the future of the service, the Rushen Emergency Ambulance Committee was formed.

Early Days

The newly formed Committee drew people from all interested parties. Mr. Ken Quine, his wife Joan and Mr. Derek Cregeen represented the St. John Ambulance Brigade; Mrs. Joyce Corlett (nee Gilrea) and Mr. Cyril Watterson represented the voluntary Drivers; Mr. Leslie Watterson – Port Erin Commissioners; Mr. Bill Martin – Port St. Mary Commissioners; Mr. Tom Qualtrough- Rushen Parish Commissioners; and Mr. Cecil McFee. The Committee immediately got down to the business of finding land on which to build a garage, and through the kindness of Port Erin Commissioners, we were able to lease the plot of land on which the garage now stands. Then began what in those days was a mammoth fund-raising task. £2,500 was needed to build a garage and to meet the cost of petrol and repairs that would be needed to keep the vehicle on the road. Through donations, and by efforts arranged by local organisations and individuals, and by the efforts of the Committee, £3,500 was raised in the first 18 months – enough to pay for the garage and the running costs.

The new garage was completed in 1973 and work immediately commenced to raise money for the purchase of a brand new Ambulance. It was indeed a proud organisation that took delivery of its first new vehicle, a Ford Transit purchased at a cost of £2,500. It was decided to keep the original Austin Ambulance as a back up and consequently fund raising commenced to build a second garage. This building was completed at a cost of £3,217 – all through the efforts of the local community. It was the intention to eventually have a service equipped with two front line Ambulances and the best equipment that was available. To this end fund raising continued and in 1978, a custom-built Bedford Ambulance was delivered at a cost of £12,500. We were now able to dispose of the original Austin vehicle and 1979 saw the organisation equipped with two first class front line Ambulances fully equipped to deal with any emergency. On 11th February 1981, the organisation celebrated its 10th Anniversary. Who would have foreseen the incredible success of the organisation or indeed how it was to continue to grow in the future?

1980s and 1990s

In 1982 a brand new Bedford Ambulance was added to the fleet giving the service two identical vehicles of the most modern type available at the time. Hand portable radio sets were purchased to aid communication between stand-by crews and identical items of equipment were purchased to standardise the operation of the two vehicles. The organisation was now not only covering emergency calls but also assisting to provide Ambulance cover for community events in the South. The Committee never failed to be amazed by the support, both moral and financial, of the Southern and indeed Island-wide community.

As the years progressed, the organisation had to keep abreast of change and continually update the equipment and vehicles. The next new vehicle to be purchased was the latest style Ford Transit which was delivered in 1990. This vehicle, which cost £27,000 was converted by UVG, one of the countries leading manufacturers of Ambulances in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire and again represented the best technology available.

January 1991 saw the sad loss of the man considered to be the driving force behind the development of the service – Mr. Ken Quine, BEM. Mr Martin Benson took over as Chair.

On the 11th February 1992 the Ambulance celebrated its 21st Birthday and a commemorative dinner was held at the Port Erin Royal Hotel.

The organisation added a further Ford Transit Ambulance to it’s fleet in 1993 identically equipped with the very latest in life saving equipment – Oxygen Resuscitators, Defibrillators, Pulse Oximeters, Electronic Blood Pressure monitors and full Advanced Cardiac Life Support kits. This vehicle was purchased at a cost of over £35,000.

1994 saw the award of the MBE to Mrs Joan Quine, a founder member, for services to the community.

The organisation celebrated twenty five years of operation on the 11th February 1996 and a model ambulance was commissioned for sale as a memento of the occasion.

In January 1999 the organisation took delivery of a brand new Mercedes Ambulance at a cost of just over £54,000 – the most expensive vehicle purchased to date. UVG Ambulances in Dewsbury again converted this vehicle to our specification.

The New Millenium

During 2000, the work of Rushen Ambulance continued and new training equipment was purchased. A new concept was beginning to emerge – that of ‘First Response’. The principle behind First Response is to get trained help and life-saving equipment, to a casualty in the quickest possible time, while an ambulance is on its way. This ‘First Responder’ would be a person trained in resuscitation, defibrillation and life saving skills.

The need for a specific vehicle was identified and in 2000, a Honda CRV First Response vehicle was added to the fleet, equipped with all the necessary emergency medical equipment to save a life. The Honda CRV, being a smaller four-wheel drive vehicle, is able to negotiate heavy traffic more easily than a large ambulance and can also access confined areas and rough terrain, which would prove difficult, or impossible, with an ambulance. This vehicle stayed with the duty attendant who then decided whether the emergency call requires an immediate response from their home, with the duty driver following on in the Ambulance, or whether the slightly longer Ambulance response time was sufficient.

2003 saw the building of an NHS Ambulance station in Port Erin, with 3 vehicles and 10 staff. After a period of dual-running with the voluntary service that Rushen Emergency Ambulance provided, all 999 ambulance calls began to be handled by the NHS.

During 2007, the committee worked with the NHS and St. John ambulance to flesh out the details of a formalised First Responder scheme for the South of the island. Adverts were placed for volunteers and training began. The scheme went live on 1st April 2008, providing round the clock cover, with a dedicated team of five people. Each of them was equipped with their own kit, inlcuding oxygen cylinders and maks, defibrillators, and airway adjuncts. Again, the generosity of the local community funded all of these purchases.

2011 marked the 40th Anniversary of Rushen Emergency Ambulance. A meal was held in February at the Falcon’s Nest hotel in Port Erin, and it was pleasing to see both Joan Quine and Joyce Corlett in attendance, both of who were original members of the committee!

The Future

The First Responder scheme continues to go from strength to strength, and Rushen Emergency Ambulance is proud to provide continuous 24 hour/day cover since the scheme first went live in April 2008. The team of First Responders has grown in number, and there are now six people (and their kit) spread throughout the community, ready to respond in seconds to provide vital aid to patients while the Isle of Man ambulance makes its way to a scene.

Our latest project is to provide ‘public access’ defibrillators throughout the south, so that vital seconds can be saved in the event of someone suffering from a sudden cardiac arrest. Our first public-access defibrillator was installed in Ballasalla in September 2012.