FollowingseveralseriousincidentsrequiringHEMS support,DevonAirAmbulancehasintroducedanew safetymeasurewithBictonArena Eventingorganisers nowassignaWhat3Wordslocationtoeachfenceor fencecombinationandsharethiswithkeypersonnel aheadofthecompetition.
Unlikegridreferencesorpostcodes,whichcoverlarge areas,What3Wordspinpointsaprecise3‑metresquare. IntheeventofaHEMScallout,thisexactlocation enablesthepilottoflydirectlytothescene,before selectingthesafestlandingpoint.
Examples of pre-planned W3W information for relevant personnel
NAF Arena today corrode otters
Dressage Levels punch willpower void
Show Office blank surprises vocal
XC Warm Up craftsmen.lasted.stick
Stable Managers enable.flagpole.paces
Permanent Stables goodbyes.rings.preoccupied
We’veintroducedanewsystemthatassignsaWhat3Wordslocationto everycrosscountryfenceandkeyrendezvouspointonoureventsite.It givesusfargreaterconfidencethatwecanreachpatientsquicklyand accurately Igenuinelybelievethiscouldencourageotherevents—both BritishEventing–affiliatedandbeyond—todothesame W3Wisn’tjust forindividualemergencies:it’sapowerfultoolforeventsafetyplanning ofanysize.
QuotefromHelenWest,Director,BictonArena
Ifwegetacallforaninjuredorsickpersonwecan findoutduringthecallwhatfencetheyareat Someofthecoursescouldbequitelargeand landingasclosetosceneaspossibleiskey
Kelly-HEMSsupportdesk
Ifacasualtyismovedfromtheoriginallocation,informtheHEMSteamofthenew position ideallyonealreadylistedintheWhat3Wordsplan. LiaisewithyourlocalHEMSDispatchteaminadvancetosharedatesand What3Wordslocations. Advice from HEMS
Coursebuilders/organisersshouldaddaWhat3Wordslocationforeachfenceor fencecombinationandsharethesewithFenceJudges,theChiefSteward,Health& Safety,medicalteams,andotherkeypersonnel
Duringthehelicopterapproachandlanding,tokeepeveryonesafeandtoallowthe pilottoselecttheclosestlandingspottotheW3W,pleasetemporarilystoptheevent. Oncelanded,thecrewwillaimtogivetheallcleartore-startthecompetitionassoon aspossible.
Whenthecrewarereadytodepart,theywillgivea5-10minutewarningtostopthe eventagain.Oncetheyhaveliftedandareclearofthearea,theeventmaybe restarted
Implementing this simple system helps to:
GiveofficialsgreaterconfidencewhencallingforHEMSsupport Speedupthedispatchoftherightresources.
Improveaccuracyandefficiencyforpilotsduringplanning
Reduceairbornesearchtimebyprovidinganexact3metrelocation,allowingcrewsto focusonpatientcaresooner.
IncreaseawarenessamongorganisersandkeypersonnelofHEMSrequirements duringserious‑incidentplanning.
What3Wordsisagamechangerforincidentresponse,
