Dr Jan Chesham along with Brian Devlin – Heartstart Defibrillators -and where they are in Dunblane

Trossachs Search + Rescue

On Thursday, Club members gave a warm welcome to Jan Chesham and Brian Devlin from Trossachs Search + Rescue.  The organisation was formed in 1998 with the aim of providing a range of support services for the community. As they explained, Trossachs Search + Rescue’s primary area of operation covers the area from Loch Lomond to Dunblane, and from Strathblane to Strathyre. However, in response to calls for specialist support in specific emergencies, it will work across Scotland in conjunction with the emergency services. There are currently 42 members drawn from all walks of life; all its members are unpaid volunteers.  Indeed, there is no funding from the government to help the organization meet its annual costs of some £40,000.

As Brian explained, the organization provides services and support in three major areas:  Promotion of Health, Search and Rescue, and Community Support.  A major element of the Promotion of Health aspect is the provision of CPR training in the Heartstart programme which it has undertaken for 20 years in response to the Scottish government’s Save a Life initiative.  In 2019 it mounted 123 classes (all of which were free) with 2,290 people being trained.  Associated with that programme, the organization has provided 100 defibrillators across its area, with an estimated 28 lives saved in consequence. There is a continuing programme of installation of devices that are regularly checked. There is, in addition, a group of First Responders who work with the Ambulance Service to provide a rapid response where an emergency has been identified.

In its Search and Rescue guise, the organization deploys dog teams to seek out survivors of disasters.  For example, they provided this skilled resource at the 2013 Clutha bar disaster, and, recently, at the 2021 house explosion in Ayr.  In these instances, the dogs can locate victims using their highly develop sense of smell.  They can also be deployed in coastal searches where it is hoped to recover bodies lost at sea.

In Community Support, the organization works regularly to provide first-aid cover at local events such as the Bridge of Allan Games and the Doune and Dunblane Show.  It also acts as an important resource in severe weather where communities have been cut-off and require food or other provisions. Where travel has been badly affected, the organisation’s four-wheel drive vehicles provide an important means of transport for hospital staff and patients.

Speaker’s Host, Graham Russell, thanked Jan and Brian for their exhaustive coverage of their organisation’s work.