What do I do if someone is injured on a hill?

British mountain rescue is provided by volunteer teams, coordinated by the police, and it is free. Calling them is not an imposition, and the single most common regret expressed after incidents is that the call was made too late. What follows is the sequence, and the information you will be asked for.

Safety

What you'll need

• A charged phone
• A group shelter or bothy bag
• A foil blanket
• Spare insulating layers
• A whistle and a head torch
• A first aid kit

Step by step

1. Stop and look at the whole scene before you approach.Rockfall, a steep or loose slope, a cornice, fast water, an unstable casualty position. Rescuers becoming casualties is a recurring pattern. If reaching them means ground you would not otherwise walk on, do not.
2. Check the immediate life threats.Responsiveness, airway, breathing, and catastrophic bleeding. Bleeding is controlled with firm direct pressure. If they are not breathing normally and you are trained, start CPR; on a hill the decision to continue is difficult and the call handler will help.
3. Insulate from the ground before anything else.Conduction into cold, wet ground removes heat faster than anything and hypothermia is the thing that turns a broken ankle into a serious incident. Get rucksacks, mats, spare clothing — anything — underneath them, then insulate on top and put the group shelter over everyone.
4. Splint and support without moving them unnecessarily.Support a suspected fracture in the position found, padded, and do not straighten or move it. Do not move anyone with a suspected head, neck or back injury unless they are in immediate further danger.
5. Work out exactly where you are.A grid reference from the map with the two-letter prefix, or a what3words location, or latitude and longitude from a phone app. Also useful: the hill name, the nearest recognisable feature, and how you got there.
6. Call 999 and ask for the police, then mountain rescue.Mountain rescue is called out by the police in the UK, so the sequence is: 999, police, then say you need mountain rescue. On the coast or cliffs, ask for the coastguard instead. In caves, cave rescue.
7. Give the information in a usable order.Your name and phone number. The exact location. The number of casualties and what is wrong with each. The time of the accident. The weather, wind and visibility where you are. What equipment and shelter you have. How many people are with the casualty.
8. Do not hang up until they say so, and then keep the phone free.The team will call you back. Keep the phone on, keep it warm, conserve the battery, and if you must move, tell them before you do it.
9. If there is no signal, work the alternatives.Move a short distance to higher ground and try again, but do not leave the casualty alone if it can be avoided. A text to 999 works with a weaker signal if you registered the phone beforehand. The international distress signal is six whistle blasts or six torch flashes in a minute, then a minute's silence, repeated.
10. Prepare the site for the team.Make yourselves visible — bright clothing, a head torch, a whistle. If a helicopter may come, stow everything loose, because rotor downwash launches rucksacks and mats. Do not approach an aircraft; wait for the crew to come to you.
11. Look after everyone else too.The uninjured members of the group are standing still in the cold, often shocked. Get them layered up, fed and inside the shelter. A second casualty from hypothermia is a real and common risk.

Tips

• Register your phone for emergency SMS to 999 before you go anywhere. Send REGISTER to 999 and follow the instructions. It takes two minutes and it works when a voice call cannot get through.
• A group shelter — a lightweight nylon bag that several people sit inside — is the single most valuable item of emergency kit for a British hill day, and it weighs very little.
• OS Locate, the OS Maps app and what3words all give a location without a data connection. Know which one you would use before you need it.
• Note the time of the accident. It is one of the first things you will be asked and it is surprisingly easy to lose track of.
• Mountain rescue teams are charities. If they come out for you, they will never charge you — a donation afterwards is the usual and much appreciated response.

Common mistakes

• Asking for an ambulance rather than the police — Mountain rescue in the UK is coordinated by the police. Asking for an ambulance for an incident on a hill adds a step and costs time.
• Trying to carry an injured person off the hill — Untrained carrying makes injuries worse, exhausts the group, and moves the casualty away from the location you have just given the rescue team.
• Leaving the casualty alone to go for help — Only as an absolute last resort with no phone signal and no alternative. If it has to happen, leave them insulated, sheltered, visible and with food and water, and mark the position.

Questions people ask