Health services in remote parts of the Top End can be stretched in emergencies and often the first people to arrive at the scene of a serious incident are emergency services first responders, local rangers, tourism operators, mine staff or passers-by.

MediSim program Manager Colin Brown said the first five or 10 minutes could mean the difference between life and death for the patient.

“This is where the MediSim program comes in. CareFlight sends doctors, paramedics and nurses to rural and remote areas, delivering specialised trauma training to local first responders,” Mr Brown said.

“These emergency services do an incredible job for their community and they could be at the scene of an accident before professional medical help arrives. Quite often in remote areas, first responders are on their own for a lengthy period of time so they need to be able to manage that situation appropriately.”

In a bid to give some of the most remote first responders in the country the best training possible, this week CareFlight educators are taking the MediSim crash vehicle simulator to Mataranka on Friday, and Pine Creek on Saturday.

Thanks to the support of CareFlight MediSim sponsors TIO and Territory Generation, the program will be delivered to first responders free of charge.

Launched in 2011, more than 3,300 emergency service volunteers have been trained to date, with 50 workshops held this year in the Northern Territory alone.

“The best endorsement of the MediSim program is when our volunteers tell us about all the times they’ve used the skills we’ve taught them and all the lives they’ve saved in the process,” Mr Brown said.

“Thanks to the training, first responders across the NT are in a better position to respond quickly and effectively to an emergency situation in their local community.”

Learning from highly experienced professional emergency specialists including doctors and intensive care paramedics, with hands-on scenarios including lifelike mannequins and a unique car crash rescue simulator aid in the recreation of a high pressure environment, ensuring the training is realistic.

The MediSim program, which was developed by CareFlight’s Dr Ken Harrison, has won highly prestigious awards both nationally and internationally.