COASTGUARD HELICOPTER AIRLIFTS WOMAN FROM CALDEY ISLAND

A coastguard helicopter and two RNLI lifeboats responded to a medical emergency on Caldey Island, near Tenby, on Friday, 31 July at approximately 4.30pm. A woman suffered a medical emergency whilst visiting the island, prompting coastguard personnel at the scene to request assistance. The inshore lifeboat deployed first to locate the woman at Priory Bay and provide initial casualty care, whilst the all-weather lifeboat awaited arrival of a Welsh Ambulance Service paramedic at station.

The all-weather lifeboat subsequently arrived carrying the paramedic and members of Tenby Coastguard rescue team, who set up a landing site for the helicopter travelling from Cardiff. The paramedic took over treatment of the woman, assisted by lifeboat crew members who had gone ashore. The coastguard helicopter then arrived at the scene, where the woman was immobilised, placed onto a stretcher and loaded into the aircraft for transport to hospital in Cardiff.

Following the successful airlift, the coastguard team and ambulance paramedic were transported back aboard the lifeboat and returned to Tenby. Caldey Island sits less than a mile from the Pembrokeshire coast, approximately a 20-minute boat journey from Tenby. The island is home to an active Cistercian monastic community, originally founded by Benedictine monks following the Norman conquest, and operates as a tourist destination featuring a village, priory, historic church, chocolate factory and walking routes.